Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Upgraded to “Buy” at Truist Financial

Truist Financial upgraded shares of Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $205.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $125.00.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on ALB. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Albemarle from $152.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 12th. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on Albemarle from $75.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Four 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.48.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $180.03 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.56. 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 has a one year low of $49.43 and a one year high of $181.06. The firm has a market cap of $21.19 billion, a PE ratio of -113.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 1.41.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.55) earnings per share. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PGGM Investments raised its stake in Albemarle by 10.8% during the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,080,000 after purchasing an additional 115,081 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,313,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 14.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 165,074 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,384,000 after buying an additional 21,257 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in Albemarle during the second quarter worth about $267,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 11.4% during the second quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 866,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,308,000 after buying an additional 88,457 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.