Truist Financial Issues Positive Forecast for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price boosted by Truist Financial from $210.00 to $245.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $145.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Scotiabank raised shares of Albemarle from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $85.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $176.32.

Albemarle Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE:ALB opened at $194.27 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $175.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.71. Albemarle has a 12 month low of $53.70 and a 12 month high of $215.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $22.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.43.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.13). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.09) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Albemarle will post 8.07 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -28.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. BOKF NA increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.