Brokerages Set Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Target Price at $122.60

Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twenty-three research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fifteen have given a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $122.60.

ALB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Albemarle from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Albemarle from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. First Community Trust NA bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 610.0% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. USCF Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Albemarle by 2,942.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 4.2 %

Albemarle stock opened at $90.50 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $71.97 and a 1-year high of $203.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.64. The company has a market capitalization of $10.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.57.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.49). The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a positive return on equity of 6.38%. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was down 39.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.91%.

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.