Evercore ISI Trims Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Target Price to $170.00

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target decreased by Evercore ISI from $190.00 to $170.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Albemarle from $137.00 to $100.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut Albemarle from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Albemarle from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and cut their price target for the company from $102.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $117.10.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $90.25 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.57. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $203.62.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.38% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Albemarle will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. 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 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is 58.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,407 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,479 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Albemarle by 108.0% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 171,745 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,457,000 after purchasing an additional 89,182 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 45.1% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 13,114 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 4,079 shares during the period. Finally, MONECO Advisors LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $597,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.