Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Shares Down 5% – Here’s What Happened

by · The Markets Daily

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB – Get Free Report) shares traded down 5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $119.71 and last traded at $120.1090. 1,990,813 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 3,601,829 shares. The stock had previously closed at $126.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ALB. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $113.00 target price on Albemarle and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research downgraded Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on Albemarle from $85.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Dbs Bank lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.21.

Read Our Latest Report on ALB

Albemarle Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $102.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -74.60 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.73. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 0.43% and a positive return on equity of 0.10%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.55) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -101.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.8% during the third quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 3,332 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 677 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Money Concepts Capital Corp grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 1.2% during the third quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 10,160 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $824,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 7.5% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,730 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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