Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft now has a $185.00 price target on the stock. Albemarle traded as high as $169.62 and last traded at $169.2370, with a volume of 3418310 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $161.29.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Rothschild Redb raised Albemarle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Albemarle from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Argus increased their price objective on Albemarle from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on Albemarle from $135.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $134.04.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 165,074 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,384,000 after acquiring an additional 21,257 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter worth $267,000. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 11.4% in the second quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 866,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,308,000 after purchasing an additional 88,457 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the second quarter worth $1,850,000. Finally, Leibman Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Albemarle by 14.6% in the second quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. now owns 48,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,063,000 after purchasing an additional 6,237 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $19.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -106.44, a PEG ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company’s 50-day moving average is $130.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.56.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -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.