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

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB – Get Rating) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-four research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $307.78.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 17th.

Albemarle Stock Down 4.9 %

Shares of ALB opened at $214.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $25.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s fifty day moving average is $254.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.66. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $185.15 and a fifty-two week high of $334.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The specialty chemicals company reported $8.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.46 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 36.75% and a return on equity of 37.63%. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was up 193.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. Analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 30.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 17th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 16th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently 7.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Scott Tozier sold 5,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.40, for a total value of $1,432,980.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,473,054.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 7,836 shares of company stock worth $1,917,699 in the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Albemarle by 51.2% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 130 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its stake in Albemarle by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 39.0% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 164 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.24% of the company’s stock.

About Albemarle

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Albemarle Corp. engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop production, food-safety, and custom chemistry services. It operates through the following business segments: Lithium, Bromine, Catalysts, and All Other.