Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Baird R W upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $164.98 and last traded at $157.9030, with a volume of 5621889 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $146.13.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Rothschild Redb raised Albemarle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price target on Albemarle from $87.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.28.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $138,723,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 48.5% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,870,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $179,870,000 after purchasing an additional 937,538 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 22,047.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 713,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,613,000 after buying an additional 710,589 shares during the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,088,000. Finally, FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,903,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Trading Down 2.0%

The company has a market cap of $18.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -99.55, a P/E/G ratio of 7.94 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.27.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.55) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -101.89%.

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.