Truist Financial Cuts Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target to $65.00

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective reduced by Truist Financial from $85.00 to $65.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Mizuho reduced their price target on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI lowered Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.70.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $57.32 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $72.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.26. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $137.50. The stock has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.12 and a beta of 1.59.

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

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -14.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at $85,570,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,405,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,594,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,256,294,000 after buying an additional 359,014 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,192,527 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $102,653,000 after buying an additional 320,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 6,393.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 152,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $10,975,000 after buying an additional 150,047 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.