Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price Up 3.4%

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) shares shot up 3.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $90.06 and last traded at $89.85. 444,304 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 3,113,844 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the topic of several research reports. Berenberg Bank cut Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Albemarle from $151.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.60.

Albemarle Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $91.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.57.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.49). The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a positive return on equity of 6.38%. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was down 39.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.91%.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 128.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 176.6% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,588,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $209,333,000 after buying an additional 3,662,117 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $377,341,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,185,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $749,235,000 after buying an additional 1,667,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,800,219 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $838,025,000 after acquiring an additional 1,396,624 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is 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.