Brokerages Set Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) PT at $114.47

Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-two ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fifteen have issued a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $114.47.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ALB. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in Albemarle by 0.5% during 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,741,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $258,797,000 after purchasing an additional 14,874 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position 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 valued at $149,833,000 after buying 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 valued at $125,264,000 after buying an additional 29,721 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,198,730 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $114,503,000 after buying an additional 127,615 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Up 3.3 %

ALB opened at $111.30 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $99.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.58. Albemarle has a 12 month low of $71.97 and a 12 month high of $153.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.39 and a beta of 1.55.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -9.67%.

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.