Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Given New $128.00 Price Target at Mizuho

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective upped by Mizuho from $112.00 to $128.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

ALB has been the topic of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Albemarle from a buy rating to a hold rating and reduced their target price for the company from $155.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup increased their target price on Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Albemarle in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a peer perform rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $175.85.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $128.10 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Albemarle has a 52-week low of $106.69 and a 52-week high of $247.44. The firm has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a PE ratio of 46.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s 50 day moving average is $123.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.54.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $10.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Albemarle will post 2.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 58.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. 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.