KeyCorp Has Lowered Expectations for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) had its target price reduced by KeyCorp from $102.00 to $95.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on ALB. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $86.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Albemarle from an "outperform" rating to an "inline" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.24.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.5 %

ALB stock traded up $0.91 on Friday, reaching $60.23. 3,470,004 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,752,655. The company has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.38 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 one year low of $49.43 and a one year high of $137.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.12.

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

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Albemarle's payout ratio is -14.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 71.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 6,234 shares in the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 28,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,481,000 after buying an additional 4,899 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 172.1% during the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,405 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 4,051 shares during the last quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Albemarle by 50.5% during the 4th quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. now owns 38,964 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,354,000 after purchasing an additional 13,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at about $218,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.