Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $108.00 to $133.00. The stock had previously closed at $102.80, but opened at $108.26. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Albemarle shares last traded at $108.75, with a volume of 497,877 shares traded.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.47.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at about $202,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 25.6% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 215,651 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,047,000 after acquiring an additional 43,906 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,379 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 126,637 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $16,683,000 after acquiring an additional 2,712 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 190,526 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,100,000 after acquiring an additional 35,003 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $12.72 billion, a PE ratio of -6.46 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.44. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $94.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.20.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -9.67%.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.