Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Receives $189.04 Average PT from Analysts

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $191.8333.

ALB has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research cut shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $210.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -61.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.36. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $53.70 and a 1-year high of $221.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $180.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Albemarle will post 8.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -47.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $2,012,654.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALB. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. BOKF NA boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% in the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company’s bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world’s foremost chemical producers.