Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Given New $200.00 Price Target at Royal Bank Of Canada

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective lifted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $159.00 to $200.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

ALB has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $210.00 target price on shares of Albemarle and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $152.48.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $180.03 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $140.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.56. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $49.43 and a 52 week high of $181.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -113.23, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $138,723,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 48.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,870,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $179,870,000 after purchasing an additional 937,538 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 22,047.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 713,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,613,000 after purchasing an additional 710,589 shares during the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth $47,088,000. Finally, FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,903,000. 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.