Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ALB. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective (up from $95.00) on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $152.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $132.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.96.

Albemarle Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of ALB stock opened at $177.55 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -111.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.44 and a beta of 1.41. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $49.43 and a 12-month high of $179.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $133.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.90.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $0.73. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.10% and a negative net margin of 0.43%.The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.55) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -101.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Albemarle by 10,050.0% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter worth about $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 7,257.1% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the period. BOKF NA lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company’s bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world’s foremost chemical producers.