Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Trading 5% Higher - Here's What Happened

Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) rose 5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $59.72 and last traded at $59.84. Approximately 527,552 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 3,069,324 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company 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. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Albemarle to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment 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 MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $91.62.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.23 and a beta of 1.61. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $58.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.89.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.18 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Albemarle's payout ratio is currently -14.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,619 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 1,306 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Albemarle by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,053 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,585 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in Albemarle by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 5,022 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. Finally, Old North State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,113 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,821,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. 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.