Brokerages Set Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Target Price at $107.05

Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $104.30.

ALB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB opened at $75.41 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.73 and a beta of 1.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $82.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $67.23 and a 12-month high of $137.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -14.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH bought a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $837,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $9,728,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $1,997,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $486,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,657 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,414,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.