Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Short Interest Up 15.5% in February

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 9,924,799 shares, an increase of 15.5% from the February 12th total of 8,590,028 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,429,450 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days. Approximately 8.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Approximately 8.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,429,450 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. BOKF NA lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ALB. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $145.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Albemarle from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.24.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $165.80 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.51 billion, a PE ratio of -28.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $206.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.31.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.13). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 10.74% and a positive return on equity of 0.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.09) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -28.17%.

About Albemarle

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.