Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Albemarle (NYSE:ALB)

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 15,407 put options on the company. This is an increase of 22% compared to the average volume of 12,675 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on ALB shares. Piper Sandler set a $68.00 price objective on Albemarle and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Albemarle from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Evercore ISI lowered Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.62.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $56.51 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $62.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.00. Albemarle has a 12 month low of $49.43 and a 12 month high of $129.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.05 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $0.44. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. The firm’s revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 340.6% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in Albemarle by 606.5% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. National Pension Service lifted its stake in Albemarle by 74.5% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.