Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-three analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $115.65.

A number of brokerages have commented on ALB. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective 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 target price on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Clarkson Capital started coverage on Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $89.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The company has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.37, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.58. Albemarle has a 1 year low of $71.97 and a 1 year high of $143.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.72.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -9.67%.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of Albemarle 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 38.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $96,660,000 after buying an additional 282,194 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $66,839,000 after acquiring an additional 157,319 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 392.6% during the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 7,916 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 6,309 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 32.4% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 521,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,395,000 after acquiring an additional 127,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Albemarle by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 423,049 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,067,000 after purchasing an additional 93,718 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.