Analysts Set Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Target Price at $175.05

Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $175.05.

ALB has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Albemarle in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $137.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Vertical Research downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Fairfield Bush & CO. lifted its position in Albemarle by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 5,565 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its position in Albemarle by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $968,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in Albemarle by 186.4% in the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,898 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in Albemarle by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 8,785 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,943,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 3,859 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $853,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of ALB opened at $112.15 on Friday. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $106.69 and a 52 week high of $247.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $123.05 and a 200-day moving average of $129.07.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.86. Albemarle had a return on equity of 26.62% and a net margin of 16.36%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.62 EPS. Albemarle’s revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.99%.

About Albemarle

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.