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

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened 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 traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Albemarle in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. TD Cowen cut shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $220.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Albemarle from $191.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.05.

Albemarle Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $13.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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 firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.62 earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 51.2% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 130 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in 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. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the first quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, City State Bank lifted its stake in Albemarle by 60.0% during the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.