Brokerages Set Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) PT at $91.62

Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have issued a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $91.62.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Albemarle from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $68.00 price target on shares of Albemarle and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 340.6% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth about $32,000. National Pension Service raised its position in Albemarle by 74.5% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Down 4.5%

Shares of ALB opened at $56.72 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.10 and a beta of 1.61. Albemarle has a one year low of $49.43 and a one year high of $113.91. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by $0.44. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.92% and a negative net margin of 22.39%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -14.57%.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.