Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Raised to $140.00 at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price boosted by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $125.00 to $140.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ALB. Loop Capital reduced their target price 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $137.00 to $125.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 15th. TD Cowen cut Albemarle from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and cut their price target for the company from $220.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $172.05.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $131.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.47 billion, a PE ratio of 47.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.90. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $106.69 and a 1-year high of $247.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Albemarle will post 2.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently 58.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kingfisher Capital LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC now owns 14,117 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,401,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 1,541 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Albemarle by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 20,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,720,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, USCF Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 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.