Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Given New $133.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $108.00 to $133.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.47.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $102.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.15. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $153.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market cap of $12.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.14 and a beta of 1.55.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -9.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. First Community Trust NA acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 610.0% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 61.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 100.0% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.