Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Lowered to $60.00 at Robert W. Baird

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target cut by Robert W. Baird from $77.00 to $60.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on ALB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $122.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.05.

Albemarle Stock Down 5.9 %

ALB stock opened at $54.00 on Tuesday. 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 12 month low of $49.43 and a 12 month high of $137.50. The firm has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a PE ratio of -4.82 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.02.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced 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 net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. Equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Albemarle by 340.6% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 606.5% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. First Community Trust NA grew its stake in Albemarle by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.