Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Stock Has Average Price Target of $179.41 According to Analysts

Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and fifteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $179.41.

Several analysts have weighed in on ALB shares. Barclays started coverage on Albemarle in a research report on Monday, October 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $109.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on Albemarle from $175.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $157.00 to $129.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 15th.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. CenterBook Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 38.7% in the third quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 23,021 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,435,000 after purchasing an additional 6,425 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 182.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,104 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 4,585 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at $126,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 445.3% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 56,548 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,982,000 after buying an additional 46,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 129.0% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 108,027 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,427,000 after buying an additional 60,863 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE ALB opened at $90.63 on Friday. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $88.01 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.39. The stock has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 335.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.36.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.55. Albemarle had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 18th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 607.41%.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) is a global specialty chemicals company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company develops, manufactures, and markets engineered chemicals used in energy storage, transportation, refining, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, consumer products, and other industrial applications.

Albemarle is one of the world’s major producers of lithium and supplies lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, for use in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid energy-storage systems.