Brokerages Set Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) PT at $175.05

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $175.05.

Several research firms have commented on ALB. Vertical Research downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 8th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $114.17 on Friday. Albemarle has a 12 month low of $106.69 and a 12 month high of $247.44. The stock has a market cap of $13.42 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $122.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.45.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.62 earnings per share. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Albemarle will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,296 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 75.8% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,038 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,217,000 after buying an additional 5,620 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 72.3% in the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 305 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Albemarle by 306.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.