Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $62.90, but opened at $65.52. Albemarle shares last traded at $64.52, with a volume of 469,407 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Albemarle from $86.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. TD Securities dropped their price target on Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.62.

Albemarle Stock Up 4.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $7.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.91 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.44 and a 200-day moving average of $71.74.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.92% and a negative net margin of 22.39%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is -14.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Albemarle by 340.6% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 74.5% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

About Albemarle

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.

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