Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Albemarle (NYSE:ALB – Get Rating) in a research note published on Thursday. The firm issued a hold rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on ALB. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $297.00 to $250.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Albemarle from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. Citigroup lowered their target price on Albemarle from $345.00 to $295.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 15th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a sector perform rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Albemarle from $340.00 to $362.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $308.00.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $208.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $24.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.14, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $254.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $262.37. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $185.15 and a twelve month high of $334.55.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The specialty chemicals company reported $8.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.46 by $0.16. Albemarle had a net margin of 36.75% and a return on equity of 37.63%. The business had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was up 193.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Albemarle will post 30.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 16th. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently 6.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Scott Tozier sold 417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.49, for a total transaction of $106,539.33. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,213,614.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 7,836 shares of company stock valued at $1,917,699 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 51.2% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 130 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its position in Albemarle by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 164 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Albemarle in the third quarter worth $37,000. 82.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Company Profile

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Albemarle Corp. engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop production, food-safety, and custom chemistry services. It operates through the following business segments: Lithium, Bromine, Catalysts, and All Other.