Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Short Interest Down 6.2% in April

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

Albemarle Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $119.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $106.69 and a twelve month high of $247.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $122.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.88.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.27). Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $10.32 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.99%.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 2,942.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Albemarle from $137.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.05.

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.