Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB – Get Rating) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,460,000 shares, a growth of 8.0% from the May 15th total of 5,980,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,330,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CEO J Kent Masters acquired 5,470 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $181.64 per share, for a total transaction of $993,570.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 51,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,348,284.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Albemarle news, insider Eric Norris bought 1,260 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $195.49 per share, for a total transaction of $246,317.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 26,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,199,252.04. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO J Kent Masters bought 5,470 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $181.64 per share, with a total value of $993,570.80. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,348,284.24. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 8,103 shares of company stock worth $1,489,774. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 450,215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $119,055,000 after acquiring an additional 4,675 shares during the last quarter. Robbins Farley purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,385,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Albemarle by 177.0% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 27,703 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,326,000 after buying an additional 17,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.24% of the company’s stock.
Albemarle Stock Down 1.2 %
Shares of ALB opened at $228.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $200.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $228.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.32, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.54. Albemarle has a one year low of $171.82 and a one year high of $334.55.
Albemarle (NYSE:ALB – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $10.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.93 by $3.39. Albemarle had a return on equity of 45.57% and a net margin of 41.89%. The business had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.38 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 128.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 22.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Albemarle Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 16th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 15th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.13%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Albemarle from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, May 8th. Scotiabank cut shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, June 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp raised shares of Albemarle from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $270.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. Finally, CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.89.
About Albemarle
Albemarle Corp. engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop production, food-safety, and custom chemistry services. It operates through the following business segments: Lithium, Bromine, Catalysts, and All Other.