Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Sees Unusually High Call Option Buying

Key Points

• Unusually high call-option activity: Traders purchased 14,722 Albemarle call options, roughly 97% above the typical daily volume of 7,492.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately bullish but mixed: Albemarle has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $181.96, despite several recent target reductions and rating changes.
• Shares remain under pressure: ALB closed at $97.27, well below its 52-week high of $221, while institutional investors own 92.87% of the stock. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.41 per share.

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 14,722 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 97% compared to the typical daily volume of 7,492 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ALB shares. Mizuho raised Albemarle from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Albemarle from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research lowered Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Albemarle from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.96.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,246,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $23,328,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 161.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 49,412 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,672,000 after buying an additional 30,541 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 230,690 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $32,655,000 after buying an additional 74,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in Albemarle in the second quarter worth approximately $2,012,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock traded down $0.38 on Wednesday, hitting $97.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,711,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,453,742. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $88.01 and a 52 week high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The company has a market cap of $11.48 billion, a PE ratio of 361.27, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.18.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Albemarle will post 11.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Albemarle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.4050. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is presently 607.41%.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation NYSE: ALB is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and markets materials used in energy storage, transportation, consumer products and industrial applications. The company is best known for its lithium business, which supplies lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics and energy-storage systems.

Albemarle also produces bromine-based specialty chemicals used in areas such as fire safety, water treatment, pharmaceutical manufacturing and other industrial processes.

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