Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Albemarle (NYSE:ALB)

Key Points

• Albemarle Corporation experienced a significant surge in options trading, with 54,662 call options purchased, marking a 206% increase over its average daily volume.
• Equities analysts have issued mixed ratings on Albemarle, with six analysts rating it as a sell and a consensus average price target of $88.06.
• The company reported a negative net margin of 18.61% in its latest earnings, but surpassed analysts' EPS expectations by reporting $0.11 earnings per share.

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 54,662 call options on the company. Thisrepresentsanincreaseof206% compared to the average daily volume of 17,860 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler set a $68.00 target price on shares of Albemarle and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $88.06.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock traded up $1.78 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $79.76. 1,958,022 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,552,845. Albemarle has a 1 year low of $49.43 and a 1 year high of $113.91. The company has a market capitalization of $9.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.56 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $68.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.94. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.04 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is currently -17.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALB. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 177,939 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $15,317,000 after purchasing an additional 15,778 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 2,151.9% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 60,800 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,234,000 after buying an additional 58,100 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 8,380 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in Albemarle by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 51,580 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,440,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 55.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,953 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 2,480 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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