Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price Up 8.5% – What’s Next?

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) was up 8.5% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $168.53 and last traded at $170.0210. Approximately 442,575 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 2,876,714 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, December 19th. Scotiabank raised shares of Albemarle from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.24.

Albemarle Trading Up 6.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market cap of $19.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $171.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.76.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.The firm’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.09) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -28.17%.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALB. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,468 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $816,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 2,423 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company’s bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world’s foremost chemical producers.