Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Trading Up 3.2%

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) was up 3.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $102.56 and last traded at $100.56. Approximately 543,594 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 3,060,494 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ALB shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $157.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.78.

Albemarle Price Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $11.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.41, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.57. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.57.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $10.32 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction of $114,251.79. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 7.7% during the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 3,034 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. purchased a new position in Albemarle during the first quarter worth about $977,000. SRN Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 5.0% during the first quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle during the first quarter worth about $226,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 75.0% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 901 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.