Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Short Interest Down 6.2% in April

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,730,000 shares, a decrease of 6.2% from the March 31st total of 14,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,390,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.1 days.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.1 %

ALB stock opened at $119.00 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $13.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.88. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $106.69 and a 52 week high of $247.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.27). Albemarle had a return on equity of 26.62% and a net margin of 16.36%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $10.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Albemarle will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ALB. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen downgraded Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Albemarle in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.05.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $215,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Albemarle by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 54,978 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,348,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 65.1% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 50.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 164,448 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,963,000 after acquiring an additional 55,059 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.