Brokerages Set Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Price Target at $170.24

Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $170.24.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $167.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Albemarle from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Zacks Research cut Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Albemarle from $109.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st.

Albemarle Trading Down 3.7%

ALB opened at $174.72 on Friday. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $49.43 and a 1-year high of $206.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.56 billion, a PE ratio of -30.39, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $171.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $133.68.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.09) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -28.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,995,808.68. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PGGM Investments lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 10.8% in the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $96,080,000 after buying an additional 115,081 shares during the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,313,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 165,074 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,384,000 after acquiring an additional 21,257 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at $267,000. Finally, Bard Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Albemarle by 45.3% during the third quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 42,895 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,478,000 after purchasing an additional 13,380 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by 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.