Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Rating Increased to Buy at Berenberg Bank

Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $160.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $130.00.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen cut shares of Albemarle from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $191.00 to $188.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a peer perform rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Albemarle from a buy rating to a hold rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $175.05.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $130.31 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.57. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $106.69 and a 52 week high of $247.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. Albemarle’s revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 11.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Fairfield Bush & CO. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 5,565 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $968,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in Albemarle by 186.4% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,898 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 8,785 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,943,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in Albemarle by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 3,859 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.