Brokerages Set Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Price Target at $120.21

by · The Markets Daily

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB – Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirty-one research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seventeen have assigned a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $125.28.

ALB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Albemarle from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $87.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of Albemarle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on ALB

Albemarle Stock Down 2.0%

ALB stock opened at $158.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -99.55, a P/E/G ratio of 7.94 and a beta of 1.41. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $164.98. The business has a 50-day moving average of $127.55 and a 200-day moving average of $96.58.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.73. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.10% and a negative net margin of 0.43%.The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.55) EPS. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -101.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,954,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $184,782,000 after buying an additional 59,104 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 48.5% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,870,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $179,870,000 after acquiring an additional 937,538 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at $138,723,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,475,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $119,710,000 after purchasing an additional 52,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Albemarle by 1.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $102,464,000 after purchasing an additional 22,856 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Company Profile

(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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