Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-seven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation and fifteen have assigned a 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 $199.8696.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ALB. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Albemarle from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Argus lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.0%

ALB opened at $116.04 on Thursday. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $64.95 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $147.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.08. The company has a market capitalization of $13.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.03 and a beta of 1.34.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business’s revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -48.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. BOKF NA lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 536.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.