Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $75.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Albemarle from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Albemarle to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group set a $57.00 price target on Albemarle and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.62.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of ALB stock traded up $0.94 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $71.92. 2,710,646 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,194,626. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.47 and a beta of 1.63. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $49.43 and a 12-month high of $113.91. The company's 50-day moving average price is $61.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $0.44. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.92% and a negative net margin of 22.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Albemarle's payout ratio is currently -14.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $218,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 2,151.9% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 60,800 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,234,000 after buying an additional 58,100 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at about $303,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at about $271,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 6,393.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 152,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $10,975,000 after acquiring an additional 150,047 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

About Albemarle

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.