Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price Up 8.5% - Here's What Happened

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 8.5% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $70.82 and last traded at $71.08. Approximately 1,318,236 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 2,854,318 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALB has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, TD Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $91.62.

Albemarle Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $60.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.33 billion, a PE ratio of -6.37 and a beta of 1.63.

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. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 22.39% and a negative return on equity of 1.92%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. The company's revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.57%.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

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

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.