Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Consensus "Moderate Buy": Twenty-eight analysts give Albemarle an average rating of "Moderate Buy" (2 sell, 11 hold, 13 buy, 2 strong buy) with a mean 12‑month price target of $171.84.
• Divergent analyst views: Recent target changes show wide disagreement—Jefferies raised its target to $230 and Oppenheimer to $222, while JPMorgan cut its target to $145 and set a neutral rating.
• Mixed quarterly results and insider sale: Albemarle missed Q4 EPS at ($0.53) versus ($0.40) expected but beat revenue at $1.43B (+15.9% YoY), and CEO J. Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares (≈$2.01M), reducing his stake by 8.05%.

Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-eight brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $171.84.

ALB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Albemarle from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research cut Albemarle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Albemarle from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $167.00 to $190.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 17th.

Insider Activity

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at $22,995,808.68. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 121.5% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Trading Up 6.6%

Shares of ALB stock opened at $185.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.43. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $50.85 and a 12-month high of $206.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $171.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.70.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.The company's revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.09) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Albemarle's payout ratio is -28.17%.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company's bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world's foremost chemical producers.

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