Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $94.31, but opened at $99.20. Albemarle shares last traded at $99.18, with a volume of 753,518 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Albemarle from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $188.00 to $178.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Albemarle from $128.00 to $111.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $117.10.

Albemarle Stock Up 8.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.99. The stock has a market cap of $12.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.24, a PEG ratio of 7.98 and a beta of 1.54.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.49). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.38% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.33 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 39.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is an increase from Albemarle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Community Trust NA acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 610.0% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Albemarle by 2,942.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at $32,000. 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.