Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Trading 8.6% Higher - What's Next?

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 8.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $76.51 and last traded at $76.45. Approximately 4,710,670 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 62% from the average daily volume of 2,901,277 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ALB. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Albemarle to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $91.19.

Albemarle Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.81 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is currently -14.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in Albemarle by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,657 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,414,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,355 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $977,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its stake in Albemarle by 74.5% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its position in Albemarle by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 9,028 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,187 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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