Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Baird R W

Baird R W upgraded shares of Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ALB. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, December 19th. Stephens reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, December 19th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $125.00 target price on Albemarle in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.28.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $161.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $126.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $164.98. The company has a market capitalization of $19.01 billion, a PE ratio of -101.58, a P/E/G ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -101.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 14.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 165,074 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,384,000 after purchasing an additional 21,257 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth $267,000. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $54,308,000 after buying an additional 88,457 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter worth about $1,850,000. Finally, Leibman Financial Services Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $3,063,000 after purchasing an additional 6,237 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.