Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $132.16, but opened at $126.90. Albemarle shares last traded at $125.8170, with a volume of 516,260 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Albemarle from $166.00 to $157.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and issued a $161.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.04.

Albemarle Trading Down 2.7%

The firm has a market cap of $15.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 476.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $128.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.80.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 600.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 13,478.5% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 18,483,447 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,495,820,000 after acquiring an additional 18,347,324 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $358,101,000. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $230,603,000 after purchasing an additional 207,770 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $102,464,000 after buying an additional 22,856 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,241,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $175,542,000 after buying an additional 453,881 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company’s bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world’s foremost chemical producers.