Albemarle - ALB Stock Forecast, Price & News

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Lithium, Bromine, and Catalysts. The Lithium segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, lithium chloride, and lithium specialties; and reagents, such as butyllithium and lithium aluminum hydride for use in lithium batteries for consumer electronics and electric vehicles, high performance greases, thermoplastic elastomers for car tires, rubber soles, plastic bottles, catalysts for chemical reactions, organic synthesis processes in the areas of steroid chemistry and vitamins, life sciences, pharmaceutical industry, and other markets. It also provides cesium products for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries; zirconium, barium, and titanium products for pyrotechnical applications that include airbag initiators; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services. The Bromine segment offers bromine and bromine-based fire safety solutions; specialty chemicals, including elemental bromine, alkyl and inorganic bromides, brominated powdered activated carbon, and other bromine fine chemicals for use in chemical synthesis, oil and gas well drilling and completion fluids, mercury control, water purification, beef and poultry processing, and other industrial applications; and other specialty chemicals, such as tertiary amines for surfactants, biocides, and disinfectants and sanitizers. The Catalysts segment provides hydroprocessing, isomerization, and akylation catalysts; fluidized catalytic cracking catalysts and additives; and organometallics and curatives. The company serves the energy storage, petroleum refining, consumer electronics, construction, automotive, lubricants, pharmaceuticals, and crop protection markets. Albemarle Corporation was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Albemarle Trading Up 6.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $259.30 on Thursday. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $169.93 and a twelve month high of $291.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.37 billion, a PE ratio of 116.80, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.58.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.66. Albemarle had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 6.08%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.395 per share. This represents a $1.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 15th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on ALB. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle to $294.00 in a report on Tuesday. Cowen upped their price target on Albemarle from $275.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Friday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $290.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Monday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $255.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $300.00 to $314.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $279.05.