Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Reaches New 12-Month Low at $95.95

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $95.95 and last traded at $97.00, with a volume of 384328 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.11.

Albemarle Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $119.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.47.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The business’s revenue was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $10.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 2.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 58.18%.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Albemarle news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total value of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total value of $194,950.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Albemarle by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,083,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,034,787,000 after acquiring an additional 82,874 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 128.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,076,357 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,022,420,000 after purchasing an additional 3,979,885 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Albemarle by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,800,219 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $838,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396,624 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Albemarle by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,185,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $749,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 55.8% during the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,476,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $502,310,000 after buying an additional 1,245,719 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.