Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price Down 4.1% - What's Next?

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) shares fell 4.1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $62.50 and last traded at $62.28. 385,650 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 2,841,125 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank cut their price target on Albemarle from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Albemarle from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Securities lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $86.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.62.

Albemarle Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.11 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $59.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.74.

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

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is currently -14.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALB. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $3,816,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $623,000. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,908 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 62.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 471 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.