Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have given a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $133.79.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ALB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down from $150.00) on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Albemarle from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $157.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total value of $194,950.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total value of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $921,875.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Albemarle by 2,942.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Down 6.6 %

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $86.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $102.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.44. The company has a market cap of $10.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.63, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.57. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $82.25 and a 12-month high of $214.99.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.49). The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a positive return on equity of 6.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.33 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is 58.91%.

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.