Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Shares Down 6.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) shares were down 6.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $60.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Albemarle traded as low as $55.52 and last traded at $54.31. Approximately 1,340,756 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 2,642,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.10.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $100.70.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,594,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,256,294,000 after purchasing an additional 359,014 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,795,891 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $240,044,000 after acquiring an additional 53,985 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,990,762 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $171,365,000 after purchasing an additional 25,207 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,432,153 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $123,280,000 after purchasing an additional 8,243 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,290,797 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $111,112,000 after purchasing an additional 139,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Trading Up 3.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.05 and a beta of 1.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $73.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.57.

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

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Albemarle's 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.