Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Sets New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $71.96 and last traded at $71.73, with a volume of 2848446 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $77.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.68.

Albemarle Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $8.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.24 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $85.10 and a 200 day moving average of $92.19.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -14.46%.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total value of $255,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 1,400.0% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 340.6% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 606.5% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. First Community Trust NA lifted its stake in Albemarle by 55.0% in the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 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.