Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Trading 4.5% Higher – Time to Buy?

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) shares shot up 4.5% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $79.63 and last traded at $78.90. 570,031 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 2,613,264 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ALB. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Clarkson Capital started coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.05.

Albemarle Trading Up 0.4 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $83.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a PE ratio of -6.77 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. As a group, analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 340.6% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in Albemarle by 606.5% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. First Community Trust NA grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.