Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price Up 12.2% on Analyst Upgrade

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)’s stock price traded up 12.2% during trading on Tuesday after Berenberg Bank raised their price target on the stock from $75.00 to $135.00. Berenberg Bank currently has a hold rating on the stock. Albemarle traded as high as $158.69 and last traded at $164.02. 576,074 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 2,095,146 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.13.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $87.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Baird R W upgraded Albemarle from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Argus upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Rothschild Redb upgraded Albemarle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.28.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 10,050.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 7,257.1% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. BOKF NA boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $126.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -101.58, a P/E/G ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.27.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $0.73. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 0.43% and a positive return on equity of 0.10%. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.55) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -101.89%.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company’s bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world’s foremost chemical producers.