Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Shares Gap Up to $116.88

Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $116.88, but opened at $122.50. Albemarle shares last traded at $124.30, with a volume of 720,478 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $115.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Vertical Research lowered shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 8th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $191.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Bank of America raised shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $137.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.05.

Albemarle Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $122.85 and a 200-day moving average of $127.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $14.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.62.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.86. Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.62 EPS. Albemarle’s revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 11.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 11.1% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 54,978 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,348,000 after buying an additional 1,042 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 65.1% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 50.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 164,448 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,963,000 after buying an additional 55,059 shares during the period. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in Albemarle during the third quarter worth about $94,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Albemarle

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.