Albemarle Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:ALB)

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders acquired 24,746 put options on the company. This is an increase of 94% compared to the average daily volume of 12,725 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Clarkson Capital began coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $96.05.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 71.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 6,234 shares during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 28,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,481,000 after buying an additional 4,899 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 172.1% during the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,405 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 4,051 shares during the period. Leibman Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 50.5% during the 4th quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. now owns 38,964 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,354,000 after acquiring an additional 13,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beech Hill Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,952,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB traded up $1.33 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $56.97. The company had a trading volume of 303,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,913,628. The firm has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.09 and a beta of 1.59. The business has a fifty day moving average of $69.59 and a 200-day moving average of $86.32. Albemarle has a 12 month low of $49.43 and a 12 month high of $137.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.46%.

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.