Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $199.8696.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ALB shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their target price on Albemarle from $188.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $117.59 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business’s 50 day moving average is $151.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.79. Albemarle has a 52-week low of $64.95 and a 52-week high of $221.00. The firm has a market cap of $13.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.48 and a beta of 1.34.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Albemarle will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This is an increase from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -47.51%.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ALB. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $230,603,000 after acquiring an additional 207,770 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 1.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $102,464,000 after purchasing an additional 22,856 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Albemarle by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,241,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $175,542,000 after purchasing an additional 453,881 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $165,271,000. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth about $130,415,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.