Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Given New $100.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target raised by Citigroup from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,MarketScreener reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ALB. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Albemarle from $105.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, October 27th. Argus increased their price target on Albemarle from $90.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Albemarle from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.74.

Albemarle Stock Up 6.4%

NYSE:ALB opened at $97.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a PE ratio of -10.42 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.31. Albemarle has a 52-week low of $49.43 and a 52-week high of $113.91.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.73. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%.The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.55) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -101.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth approximately $1,238,000. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 6.7% in the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at about $271,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Albemarle by 3.6% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 184,426 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $13,282,000 after purchasing an additional 6,487 shares during the period. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 6.2% during the first quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 22,310 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,615,000 after buying an additional 1,298 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.