Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Receives $115.74 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $115.74.

Several brokerages have weighed in on ALB. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 3.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. increased its holdings in Albemarle by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 50.4% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. abrdn plc lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 0.3% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 42,529 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,031,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moser Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $88.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.38 billion, a PE ratio of -5.27 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.00. Albemarle has a one year low of $71.97 and a one year high of $151.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.44.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -9.67%.

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.