Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $104.30.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Albemarle Stock Up 4.2 %

ALB stock opened at $75.41 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $67.23 and a 1-year high of $137.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $82.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.42. The firm has a market cap of $8.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.73 and a beta of 1.70.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. Research analysts predict that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.46%.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 1,400.0% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 340.6% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 606.5% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 50.4% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.