Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Lowered to $170.00 at Evercore ISI

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price decreased by Evercore ISI from $190.00 to $170.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on ALB. Citigroup decreased their price target on Albemarle from $137.00 to $100.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. HSBC downgraded shares of Albemarle from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $95.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $128.00 to $111.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $117.10.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $88.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $90.53 and a 200-day moving average of $111.08. Albemarle has a 52-week low of $71.97 and a 52-week high of $203.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.00, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.57.

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

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter valued at $25,000. First Community Trust NA bought a new stake in Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 610.0% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Albemarle by 2,942.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.