Brokerages Set Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) PT at $96.05

Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-one analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $94.57.

ALB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Albemarle from $85.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $122.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.3 %

ALB opened at $59.32 on Tuesday. Albemarle has a one year low of $49.43 and a one year high of $137.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.30 and a beta of 1.59.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. The business’s revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. Analysts predict that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -14.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 340.6% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in Albemarle by 606.5% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. First Community Trust NA grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 55.0% in the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.