Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Shares Up 12.2% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Albemarle shares jumped about 12.2% mid‑day after Berenberg Bank raised its price target from $75 to $135, with the stock trading as high as $164.02 despite trading volume well below average.
• The analyst consensus is a "Hold" with an average target of $121.40 (1 Strong Buy, 9 Buy, 19 Hold, 2 Sell), and several brokerages have recently raised their price targets.
• Albemarle recently beat quarter estimates (EPS -$0.19 vs -$0.92 est.; revenue $1.31B vs $1.27B), but revenue was down year‑over‑year; market cap is about $19.3B, institutional ownership is ~92.9%, and the stock yields ~1.0% annually.

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) shares were up 12.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Berenberg Bank raised their price target on the stock from $75.00 to $135.00. Berenberg Bank currently has a hold rating on the stock. Albemarle traded as high as $158.69 and last traded at $164.02. Approximately 576,074 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 2,095,146 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.13.

Several other brokerages have also commented on ALB. TD Cowen upped their price target on Albemarle from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Dbs Bank boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Albemarle from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Albemarle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Albemarle from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, nineteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $121.40.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Albemarle by 10,050.0% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. BOKF NA raised its holdings in Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 36.8% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Trading Up 12.4%

The firm has a market cap of $19.33 billion, a PE ratio of -103.61, a PEG ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $123.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.98.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $0.73. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 0.43% and a positive return on equity of 0.10%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.55) EPS. Analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -101.89%.

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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