Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Trading Up 4.5% – Time to Buy?

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)’s share price shot up 4.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $79.63 and last traded at $78.90. 570,031 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 2,613,264 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Clarkson Capital started coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.05.

Albemarle Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $83.92 and its 200 day moving average is $91.94. The stock has a market cap of $8.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.77 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. Analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -14.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $837,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,728,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,997,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $486,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,657 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,414,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. 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.