Mizuho Raises Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target to $128.00

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target boosted by Mizuho from $112.00 to $128.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on ALB. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a peer perform rating on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $191.00 to $188.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Albemarle from a buy rating to a hold rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $175.85.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $128.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.06 billion, a PE ratio of 46.58, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Albemarle has a 1 year low of $106.69 and a 1 year high of $247.44. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.23.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $10.32 EPS. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post 2.86 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently 58.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in Albemarle during the third quarter worth about $25,000. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Albemarle by 2,942.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.