Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Downgraded to Underperform Rating by Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird cut shares of Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $60.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on ALB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group set a $57.00 target price on shares of Albemarle and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Piper Sandler set a $68.00 price target on shares of Albemarle and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $85.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Mizuho set a $76.00 price objective on Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.00.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $71.63 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.11. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $49.43 and a 52 week high of $113.91. The firm has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.44 and a beta of 1.63.

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

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -14.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 9.5% in the second quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,520 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 62,148 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,895,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 36.2% in the 2nd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 68,565 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,297,000 after purchasing an additional 18,239 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 3,357.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 223,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $14,028,000 after purchasing an additional 217,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 92.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 21,048 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after purchasing an additional 10,136 shares during the last quarter. 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.