Brokerages Set Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) PT at $190.04

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $190.0435.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ALB. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “reduce” rating and set a $161.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Albemarle from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Albemarle from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Albemarle from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. BOKF NA lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 5,771.4% in the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Up 0.3%

ALB stock opened at $117.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.91 billion, a PE ratio of 436.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $127.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.89. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $73.09 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.55. Albemarle had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. Albemarle’s revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle will post 11.39 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is 607.41%.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and markets products used in energy storage, transportation, electronics, construction, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and other industrial applications. The company operates through three principal businesses: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen.

Albemarle is one of the major producers of lithium and lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, which are used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics and stationary energy storage systems.