Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $150.72 and last traded at $145.4710, with a volume of 3525316 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $145.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. Truist Financial set a $125.00 price objective on Albemarle in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of Albemarle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given 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 target price of $120.21.

Albemarle Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market cap of $17.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -91.49 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $114.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.08.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.73. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.10% and a negative net margin of 0.43%.The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.55) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -101.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 866,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,308,000 after purchasing an additional 88,457 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter worth $267,000. Bard Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the second quarter valued at $1,850,000. Leibman Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Albemarle by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. now owns 48,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,063,000 after buying an additional 6,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth about $764,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.