Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Albemarle, with 15 buy, nine hold, and two sell ratings among 26 analysts. The average 12-month price target is $190.26.
• Albemarle reported quarterly earnings of $3.75 per share, exceeding the $3.20 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 31.1% year over year to $1.74 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, equivalent to $1.64 annually and a 1.2% yield; institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the stock.

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-six analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and fifteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $190.2609.

ALB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated a "reduce" rating and set a $161.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Monday, August 10th.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $136.07 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $71.25 and a 12-month high of $221.00. The business's 50 day moving average is $134.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $162.22. The company has a market capitalization of $16.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 504.00 and a beta of 1.33.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.55. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%.The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Albemarle will post 11.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is an increase from Albemarle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 600.00%.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evexia Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.3% in the first quarter. Evexia Wealth LLC now owns 2,088 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,468 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $816,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 2,952 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $530,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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