Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Given New $120.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target lowered by Bank of America from $131.00 to $120.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $150.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.63.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:ALB traded down $1.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $93.62. The company had a trading volume of 751,427 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,457,464. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $104.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.06. The stock has a market cap of $11.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.34. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $89.77 and a 1-year high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.19) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 10.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 18th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 39.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 233.0% in the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 71,694 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,584,000 after purchasing an additional 50,167 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 5,070.9% in the third quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 85,579 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,053,000 after purchasing an additional 83,924 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Albemarle by 161.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 49,412 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,672,000 after acquiring an additional 30,541 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle during the second quarter worth about $4,246,000. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the second quarter valued at approximately $23,328,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation is a specialty chemicals company that produces lithium, bromine and refining catalysts. Its products serve industries including energy storage, transportation, electronics, petroleum refining and pharmaceuticals. The company supplies lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries and other applications. It also makes bromine-based products for uses such as flame retardants and water treatment, along with catalysts used in refining petroleum. Albemarle traces its history to 1887 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.