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

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price hoisted by HSBC from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

ALB has been the topic of several other research reports. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $156.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research cut shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $178.28.

Albemarle Trading Up 6.0%

NYSE:ALB opened at $199.72 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $177.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.23. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $53.70 and a 52 week high of $215.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $23.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.73, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.43.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share (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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.09) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 8.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at $22,995,808.68. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALB. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at $411,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 483 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.