Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $104.03, but opened at $107.00. Albemarle shares last traded at $104.72, with a volume of 242,616 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Baird R W cut shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.47.

Albemarle Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.21 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $96.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.64.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -9.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALB. First Community Trust NA purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Albemarle by 1,400.0% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 610.0% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Albemarle during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 61.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is 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.