Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Short Interest Update

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,340,000 shares, a decline of 9.5% from the October 31st total of 13,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,490,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 9.9% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 11,120 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,457 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,748,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at $267,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 4,542 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 50.4% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.47.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB traded down $2.23 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $109.07. 1,477,858 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,167,590. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Albemarle has a 52-week low of $71.97 and a 52-week high of $153.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $100.26 and a 200-day moving average of $98.07.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -9.67%.

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.