Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation and fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $199.8696.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Albemarle from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, May 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was 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 owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $230,603,000 after purchasing an additional 207,770 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Albemarle by 1.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $102,464,000 after buying an additional 22,856 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Albemarle by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,241,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $175,542,000 after buying an additional 453,881 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $165,271,000. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at about $130,415,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $117.59 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $151.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.48 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.07. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $64.95 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

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

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.