Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Stock Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and fifteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $177.64.

ALB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $175.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday.

Albemarle Stock Up 0.7%

ALB opened at $99.03 on Friday. Albemarle has a 12 month low of $89.77 and a 12 month high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of $11.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $107.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.87.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.19) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Albemarle will post 11.20 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 18th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ibex Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $289,000. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 126.0% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 461 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5,344.0% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 753,618 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $79,718,000 after purchasing an additional 739,775 shares in the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its stake in Albemarle by 3.7% during the third quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 11,280 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1,627.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 44,735 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,732,000 after purchasing an additional 42,145 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Albemarle

Here are the key news stories impacting Albemarle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Albemarle reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.58 per share, ahead of estimates, on $1.55 billion in revenue—also above forecasts and up 18.8% year over year. Higher lithium pricing, strong demand, cost reductions and improved Specialties profits supported the results. Albemarle Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Cost Discipline and Lithium Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank maintained its “Sector Outperform” rating and $190 price target, estimating EPS of $11.64 for FY2026 and $14.15 for FY2027—above the cited current-year consensus estimate. Albemarle analyst coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Truist reaffirmed its “buy” rating, though it lowered its price target to $170 from $185. Truist rating information
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC cut its target to $119 from $129 but retained an “outperform” rating, reflecting a more cautious valuation alongside continued optimism about the shares. RBC rating information
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays lowered its target to $95 from $109 and kept an “equal weight” rating, pointing to a less favorable near-term risk-reward view. Lithium prices remain volatile, a potential source of uncertainty for earnings. Barclays rating information

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) is a global specialty chemicals company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company develops, manufactures, and markets engineered chemicals used in energy storage, transportation, refining, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, consumer products, and other industrial applications.

Albemarle is one of the world’s major producers of lithium and supplies lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, for use in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid energy-storage systems.