Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $91.62.

Several research firms have commented on ALB. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 48.9% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 414 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,908 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 4,655 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Albemarle by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,657 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,414,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE:ALB traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $57.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,866,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,818,865. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.20. The company has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.14 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $125.94.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.57%.

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.