Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Trading Up 2.5%

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) was up 2.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $101.25 and last traded at $100.81. Approximately 598,202 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 3,056,828 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ALB. Loop Capital reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $157.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Mizuho raised their price objective 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. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $159.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.53.

Albemarle Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $114.76 and a 200-day moving average of $121.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently 58.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 610.0% in the 2nd 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. USCF Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 2,942.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in 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.