Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $115.74.

ALB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total value of $255,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 3.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. abrdn plc grew its holdings in Albemarle by 0.3% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 42,529 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,031,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Moser Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $89.99 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.26. Albemarle has a 12 month low of $71.97 and a 12 month high of $153.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.37 and a beta of 1.56.

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 issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -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.