Key Points
- CEO J. Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of Albemarle stock on May 15 at an average price of $183.72, totaling about $3.0 million and reducing his direct ownership by 15.78%.
- Albemarle shares were down 3.9% and opened at $168.82, while the company reported a market cap of $19.91 billion and a one-year range of $53.70 to $221.00.
- The company recently posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.95 versus analyst expectations of $1.24 and revenue of $1.43 billion, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share.
Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. The trade was a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.
J Kent Masters also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Tuesday, March 10th, J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of Albemarle stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23.
Albemarle Trading Down 3.9%
NYSE:ALB opened at $168.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $182.39 and a 200-day moving average of $159.78. The company has a market cap of $19.91 billion, a PE ratio of -49.51, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.36. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $53.70 and a one year high of $221.00.
Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Albemarle Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is presently -47.51%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages have issued reports on ALB. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded shares of Albemarle from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $188.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.26.
Read Our Latest Report on ALB
Institutional Trading of Albemarle
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at $165,271,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth $130,415,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 4,338.5% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 738,430 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $104,444,000 after acquiring an additional 721,793 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 22,047.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 713,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $44,613,000 after acquiring an additional 710,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,088,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.
About Albemarle
(
Get Free Report)
Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company's bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.
Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world's foremost chemical producers.
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