Brokerages Set Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Price Target at $199.87

Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $199.2174.

ALB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research cut Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Argus raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th.

Albemarle Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $114.10 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $13.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.46 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $64.95 and a 12-month high of $221.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.43.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Albemarle will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is an increase from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -47.51%.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total value of $3,011,721.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tema ETFs LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 2,249 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 14.0% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 602,617 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $81,371,000 after purchasing an additional 73,815 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 11.1% in the second quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 3,763 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Norway Savings Bank increased its stake in Albemarle by 4.1% in the second quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 8,933 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its stake in Albemarle by 4.6% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 33,569 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,533,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Albemarle

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.