Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Albemarle has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from 26 analysts: 15 recommend buying, nine advise holding, and two recommend selling. The average 12-month price target is $190.04, well above the stock’s $122.33 price.
• The company’s latest quarter exceeded expectations, with earnings of $3.75 per share versus the $3.20 consensus and revenue of $1.74 billion, up 31.1% year over year.
• Albemarle declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, equivalent to a 1.3% annualized yield, while institutional investors own approximately 92.87% of the company’s outstanding shares.

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $190.0435.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated a "reduce" rating and issued a $161.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $224.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target 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.

Albemarle Stock Down 2.8%

NYSE:ALB opened at $122.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.09 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $127.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 453.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.33.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released 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 the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Albemarle will post 11.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is a boost from Albemarle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is presently 600.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 190.1% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 293 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 121.5% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA bought a new position in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation NYSE: ALB is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and markets products used in energy storage, transportation, electronics, construction, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and other industrial applications. The company operates through three principal businesses: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen.

Albemarle is one of the major producers of lithium and lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, which are used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics and stationary energy storage systems.

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