Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Albemarle's shares gapped up after TD Cowen raised its price target from $70.00 to $85.00, opening at $95.62 before closing at $98.20.
• Despite the upgrade, several analysts have mixed ratings on Albemarle, with a consensus target price of $87.35 and a majority rating it as a "Hold".
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405, providing a yield of 1.6%, while also reporting a revenue of $1.33 billion for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations.

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $85.00. The stock had previously closed at $91.69, but opened at $95.62. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the stock. Albemarle shares last traded at $98.20, with a volume of 735,478 shares.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on ALB. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC upped their price objective on Albemarle from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $74.00 target price on Albemarle and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Albemarle from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Albemarle from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $87.35.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,672,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,056,697,000 after buying an additional 77,773 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,954,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $184,782,000 after purchasing an additional 59,104 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,870,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $179,870,000 after purchasing an additional 937,538 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 28.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,706 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $110,814,000 after purchasing an additional 343,210 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 1,167,520 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $84,085,000 after purchasing an additional 173,441 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $80.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.64 and a beta of 1.65.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.94. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.04 EPS. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -17.38%.

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.

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