Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Lowered to $126.00 at Bank of America

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price trimmed by Bank of America from $135.00 to $126.00 in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Albemarle to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Albemarle from $127.00 to $102.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Albemarle from $157.00 to $128.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Albemarle from $188.00 to $178.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, HSBC lowered Albemarle from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $136.35.

Albemarle Stock Down 6.6 %

Albemarle stock traded down $6.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $86.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,807,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,879,290. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Albemarle has a 52-week low of $82.25 and a 52-week high of $214.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.63, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.57.

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

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.405 dividend. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total value of $114,251.79. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $921,875.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total value of $114,251.79. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total value of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 35,507 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,130,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its position in Albemarle by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,778 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 147.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $230,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Albemarle by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 32,252 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,660,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.