Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Trading 7.4% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Shares rose about 7.4% midday after Oppenheimer raised its price target from $216 to $222 and kept an outperform rating; the stock traded near $186.54.
• MarketBeat shows a consensus of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $171.84, though analyst views are mixed (2 Strong Buy, 13 Buy, 11 Hold, 2 Sell).
• Albemarle missed quarterly EPS (-$0.53 vs. -$0.40) but revenue of $1.43B beat estimates and rose 15.9% year-over-year; CEO J. Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares, leaving insiders with roughly 0.42% ownership.

Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) traded up 7.4% during mid-day trading on Monday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $216.00 to $222.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Albemarle traded as high as $184.84 and last traded at $186.5440. 611,531 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 2,656,181 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.64.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on ALB. Wells Fargo & Company set a $165.00 price target on Albemarle in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $140.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Albemarle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,995,808.68. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 25.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 26.2% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at $411,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 536.7% in 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 last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $21.99 billion, a PE ratio of -32.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.43. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $170.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.99.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.13). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 10.74% and a positive return on equity of 0.41%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.09) earnings per share. Albemarle's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is presently -28.17%.

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.

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