Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Raised to $110.00

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target lifted by Mizuho from $92.00 to $110.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Zacks Research downgraded Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Albemarle from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Baird R W cut Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.38.

Albemarle Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $115.11 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Albemarle has a 52-week low of $49.43 and a 52-week high of $119.28. The stock has a market cap of $13.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.35 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $90.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.15.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.73. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%.The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.55) earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -101.89%.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Albemarle by 44.8% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,550 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after buying an additional 4,813 shares in the last quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at approximately $428,000. Credit Agricole S A purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at approximately $693,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter worth approximately $41,239,000. Finally, Man Group plc increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 10.7% during the third quarter. Man Group plc now owns 121,238 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,830,000 after purchasing an additional 11,768 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.