Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Receives $190.26 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and fifteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $190.2609.

Several research analysts recently commented on ALB shares. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Albemarle from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Zacks Research cut shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.3%

Albemarle stock opened at $134.44 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $133.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Albemarle has a 12 month low of $71.25 and a 12 month high of $221.00. The stock has a market cap of $15.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 497.93 and a beta of 1.33.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%.Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 11.91 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 600.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 654 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 26.2% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter valued at $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at $411,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 483 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.