Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on ALB. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.87.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $117.59 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $13.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.48 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.79. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $64.95 and a 12-month high of $221.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -47.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at $16,078,990.68. The trade was a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evexia Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Evexia Wealth LLC now owns 2,088 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,468 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in Albemarle by 2.3% in the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 2,952 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $508,000 after buying an additional 67 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.