Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $160.00 to $140.00. The stock had previously closed at $141.51, but opened at $136.30. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Albemarle shares last traded at $133.2510, with a volume of 315,227 shares.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on ALB. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued a “reduce” rating and set a $161.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.04.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. BOKF NA raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 536.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 494.47 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%.The company’s revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. 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 yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 600.00%.

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.