Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Increased to $128.00 by Analysts at Mizuho

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective hoisted by Mizuho from $112.00 to $128.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on ALB. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $140.00 to $138.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Bank of America raised Albemarle from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $137.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Albemarle from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Vertical Research downgraded Albemarle from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $175.85.

Albemarle Trading Up 2.2 %

Albemarle stock opened at $128.11 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.58, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.65. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $106.69 and a fifty-two week high of $247.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $123.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 2.84.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The business’s revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $10.32 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter worth $35,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.