Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 9,924,799 shares, a growth of 15.5% from the February 12th total of 8,590,028 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,429,450 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days. Currently, 8.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 8.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,429,450 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days.

Albemarle Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE ALB traded up $3.64 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $166.08. 380,287 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,948,367. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $171.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.43. Albemarle has a 52-week low of $49.43 and a 52-week high of $206.00.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $138,723,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $165,271,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $130,415,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Albemarle by 4,338.5% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 738,430 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $104,444,000 after purchasing an additional 721,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 22,047.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 713,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,613,000 after purchasing an additional 710,589 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Albemarle from $109.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Evercore raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Albemarle from $147.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.24.

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.