Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Given New $90.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective trimmed by Piper Sandler from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Mizuho reduced their target price on Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Albemarle to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $151.00 to $132.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $128.11.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of ALB opened at $81.65 on Thursday. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $79.00 and a 12-month high of $203.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $97.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.10. 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 (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a positive return on equity of 6.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 39.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.91%.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the business’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 transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 128.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,076,357 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,022,420,000 after purchasing an additional 3,979,885 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 176.6% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,588,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $209,333,000 after buying an additional 3,662,117 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $377,341,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,185,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $749,235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,667,164 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,800,219 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $838,025,000 after acquiring an additional 1,396,624 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.