Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Reaches New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after KeyCorp lowered their price target on the stock from $122.00 to $102.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Albemarle traded as low as $49.43 and last traded at $50.46, with a volume of 7910049 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $58.10.

ALB has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $86.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.70.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Epiq Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Epiq Partners LLC now owns 25,933 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,868,000 after acquiring an additional 2,716 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 21.9% during the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 617,657 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $44,484,000 after buying an additional 21,120 shares during the last quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. now owns 42,634 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,070,000 after buying an additional 3,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 27,004 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,945,000 after buying an additional 1,552 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.23 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company's 50 day moving average is $73.41 and its 200 day moving average is $88.53.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is currently -14.46%.

About Albemarle

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.