Albemarle Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:ALB)

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders acquired 32,597 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 156% compared to the typical volume of 12,738 put options.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 1,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Albemarle during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 61.9% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.74.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock traded down $1.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $88.93. 732,966 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,845,571. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $71.97 and a 12-month high of $153.21. The company has a market cap of $10.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.31 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $100.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -9.67%.

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.