Analysts Set Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) PT at $117.30

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $114.00.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. HSBC lowered Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Albemarle from $137.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th.

Albemarle Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of ALB stock opened at $99.93 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.13 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $93.14 and its 200 day moving average is $100.56. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $71.97 and a 12-month high of $153.54.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.55) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by ($1.24). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.38% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion. Research analysts expect that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -34.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 239.7% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 53,793 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,138,000 after purchasing an additional 37,958 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Albemarle by 22.5% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 190,526 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,100,000 after buying an additional 35,003 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 392.6% during the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 7,916 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $756,000 after buying an additional 6,309 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 32.4% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 521,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,395,000 after acquiring an additional 127,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Albemarle during the first quarter valued at $202,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.