Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Given New $85.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective increased by Scotiabank from $70.00 to $85.00 in a research report report published on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Albemarle from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday. Zacks Research lowered Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $78.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.52.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB stock opened at $103.59 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.80. The stock has a market cap of $12.19 billion, a PE ratio of -11.11 and a beta of 1.70. Albemarle has a one year low of $49.43 and a one year high of $113.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.73. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.55) EPS. On average, analysts predict that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -101.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 10,050.0% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position 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 during the period. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Albemarle by 74.5% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.