Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank of Canada Analyst Says

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from $108.00 to $133.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on ALB. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.47.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $103.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $12.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.18 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $95.52 and its 200 day moving average is $100.06. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $71.97 and a twelve month high of $153.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.67%.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in Albemarle by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,833,984 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $363,117,000 after acquiring an additional 20,930 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 176.6% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,588,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $209,333,000 after acquiring an additional 3,662,117 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,568,602 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $149,833,000 after acquiring an additional 144,705 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Albemarle by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,311,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $125,264,000 after acquiring an additional 29,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,198,730 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $114,503,000 after acquiring an additional 127,615 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.