Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $200.2609.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ALB shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $153.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a report on Monday, February 23rd.

More Albemarle News

Here are the key news stories impacting Albemarle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank raised its price target on Albemarle to $250 from $210 and kept a buy rating, signaling confidence in further upside. Deutsche Bank adjusts Albemarle price target to $250 from $210
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank also lifted its target on Albemarle to $215 from $200, reinforcing the view that the shares still have room to run. Scotiabank adjusts price target on Albemarle to $215 from $200
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded Albemarle from hold to strong-buy, and Zacks added ALB to its Rank #1 Strong Buy list, adding to the bullish sentiment. Zacks upgrade report
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted Albemarle’s strong earnings estimate revisions, lithium price tailwinds, and solid demand, which suggest the stock could keep outperforming. Why Albemarle might be well poised for a surge

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB opened at $201.16 on Friday. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $53.70 and a 1-year high of $221.00. The stock has a market cap of $23.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -58.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.Albemarle’s revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post 10.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -47.51%.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $230,603,000 after purchasing an additional 207,770 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $138,723,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,475,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $119,710,000 after purchasing an additional 52,698 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $102,464,000 after buying an additional 22,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,241,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $175,542,000 after buying an additional 453,881 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.