Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Upgraded at Baird R W

Baird R W upgraded shares of Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on ALB. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Albemarle from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Citigroup increased their price target on Albemarle from $100.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Dbs Bank upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, HSBC increased 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.28.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $161.41 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $19.00 billion, a PE ratio of -101.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $128.81 and a 200-day moving average of $97.30. Albemarle has a one year low of $49.43 and a one year high of $164.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.55) EPS. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,954,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $184,782,000 after purchasing an additional 59,104 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 48.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,870,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $179,870,000 after buying an additional 937,538 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth $138,723,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Albemarle by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,475,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $119,710,000 after acquiring an additional 52,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Albemarle by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $102,464,000 after acquiring an additional 22,856 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.