Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB – Get Free Report)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $137.00 to $100.00. The stock had previously closed at $97.87, but opened at $93.60. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Albemarle shares last traded at $94.00, with a volume of 164,475 shares.
Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Albemarle from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $159.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $157.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $188.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $148.32.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction of $114,251.79. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Comerica Bank bought a new position in Albemarle during the third quarter valued at $4,897,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 12.2% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 12,574 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,138,000 after acquiring an additional 1,370 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 7.9% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 58,716 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,984,000 after acquiring an additional 4,317 shares during the period. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 626 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 1,787.2% in the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 4,435 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $641,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.
Albemarle Trading Down 2.5 %
The firm has a market cap of $11.22 billion, a PE ratio of 34.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $112.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.50.
Albemarle (NYSE:ALB – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $10.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.
Albemarle Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.18%.
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.