Analysts Set Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) PT at $99.38

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $100.2083.

ALB has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Albemarle from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Dbs Bank raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Thursday.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $117.91 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.69. The firm has a market cap of $13.88 billion, a PE ratio of -12.65 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $49.43 and a 1-year high of $125.85.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($1.55) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -101.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 10,050.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. BOKF NA raised its stake in Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 36.8% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 74.5% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. 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.