Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Trading Up 0.8%

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) shot up 0.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $93.80 and last traded at $93.23. 601,917 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 3,007,144 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. HSBC cut Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Albemarle from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $145.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down from $150.00) on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.10.

Albemarle Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $11.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.32 EPS. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total value of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction of $114,251.79. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total value 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 approximately $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Albemarle during the first quarter valued at $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 2,942.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.