Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Shares Gap Down to $120.50

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $120.50, but opened at $116.88. Albemarle shares last traded at $116.92, with a volume of 441,155 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on ALB shares. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Albemarle from $191.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $220.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.05.

Albemarle Price Performance

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 company’s fifty day moving average is $123.17 and its 200 day moving average is $129.95. The firm has a market cap of $13.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.62.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently 11.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its holdings in Albemarle by 3.4% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 51.2% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 130 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 164 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Albemarle by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 5,212 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,378,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 3.4% during the first quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,593 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. 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.