Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price Up 7.8% on Analyst Upgrade

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)’s share price rose 7.8% during mid-day trading on Friday after UBS Group upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. UBS Group now has a $185.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $107.00. Albemarle traded as high as $128.95 and last traded at $128.4630. Approximately 1,025,756 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 3,597,630 shares. The stock had previously closed at $119.14.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Albemarle from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Rothschild Redb raised Albemarle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Albemarle from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Albemarle from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.46.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 10,050.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 7,257.1% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 74.5% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, BOKF NA increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% in the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 7.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $103.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -80.97 and a beta of 1.43.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.73. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.55) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -101.89%.

About Albemarle

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.