Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Trading Down 1.9%

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) shares were down 1.9% on Friday . The company traded as low as $86.52 and last traded at $86.85. Approximately 661,784 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 3,063,736 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ALB shares. HSBC lowered shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $137.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.10.

Albemarle Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a PE ratio of 32.20, a PEG ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $87.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.60.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.38% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is an increase from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALB. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake 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 during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 100.8% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 253 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.