Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Receives $120.21 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the thirty-one analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nineteen have issued a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $121.40.

Several research analysts have recently commented on ALB shares. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 target price (up from $95.00) on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $159.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on Albemarle from $135.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th.

Albemarle Trading Up 8.1%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $157.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.59 billion, a PE ratio of -99.31, a PEG ratio of 7.18 and a beta of 1.41. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $164.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.69.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.73. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.10% and a negative net margin of 0.43%.Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($1.55) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -101.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in Albemarle by 2.8% in the third quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 3,332 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 677 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 10,160 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,730 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company’s bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world’s foremost chemical producers.