Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-nine research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $108.6250.

ALB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $95.00) on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Rothschild Redb raised shares of Albemarle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Albemarle from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $113.00 price target on Albemarle and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Albemarle from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $132.57 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $108.58 and its 200 day moving average is $85.66. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $49.43 and a 12-month high of $136.10. The stock has a market cap of $15.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -83.38 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $0.73. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.10% and a negative net margin of 0.43%.The business’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($1.55) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -101.89%.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 10,050.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 7,257.1% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its position in Albemarle by 74.5% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BOKF NA increased its position in Albemarle by 5,771.4% in the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.