Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) saw a significant decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,730,000 shares, a decline of 6.2% from the March 31st total of 14,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,390,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ALB shares. Berenberg Bank upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Albemarle in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Albemarle from $115.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.05.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB opened at $125.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $122.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.18. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $106.69 and a 12-month high of $247.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.43, a PEG ratio of 2.21 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.86. Albemarle had a return on equity of 26.62% and a net margin of 16.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.62 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Albemarle 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALB. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $215,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,042 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 50.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 164,448 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,963,000 after acquiring an additional 55,059 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.