Analysts Set Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) PT at $104.30

Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $104.30.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $58.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a PE ratio of -5.23 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $77.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.17. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $57.53 and a 12-month high of $137.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. Equities research analysts predict that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. FMR LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 658,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $62,333,000 after acquiring an additional 264,756 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Albemarle by 59.1% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 1,252 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 13.3% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,099 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 58.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 28,909 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,742,000 after buying an additional 10,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle in the third quarter valued at $1,127,000. 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.