Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $150.00 to $180.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Albemarle traded as high as $180.00 and last traded at $177.8280, with a volume of 1195411 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.54.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ALB. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Albemarle from $152.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $118.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on Albemarle from $135.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $152.48.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.8% during the third quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 3,332 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,402 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 677 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 10,160 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 4.3%

The business’s 50-day moving average is $140.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -113.23, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.27.

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

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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

Albemarle Company Profile

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.