Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the nineteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $155.78.

ALB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $157.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 8th.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Albemarle news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 2,942.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $97.09 on Wednesday. Albemarle has a 52-week low of $92.29 and a 52-week high of $247.44. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.57.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $10.32 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.18%.

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.