Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $91.62.

ALB has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on Albemarle from $86.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $59.82 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $113.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $58.25 and a 200 day moving average of $74.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.38 and a beta of 1.61.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 22.39% and a negative return on equity of 1.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.57%.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $218,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 2,151.9% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 60,800 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,234,000 after purchasing an additional 58,100 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in Albemarle by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 5,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 6,393.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 152,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,975,000 after buying an additional 150,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. now owns 220,834 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $19,009,000 after buying an additional 74,322 shares during the last quarter. 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.