Brokerages Set Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Target Price at $104.30

Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $100.70.

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $54.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $137.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.88 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.93 and a 200-day moving average of $88.78.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -14.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Albemarle by 71.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 6,234 shares during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 28,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,481,000 after purchasing an additional 4,899 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 28.5% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 423,049 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,067,000 after buying an additional 93,718 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 67.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 658,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $62,333,000 after buying an additional 264,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in Albemarle by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,741,000 after acquiring an additional 5,197 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.