Mizuho Issues Positive Forecast for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target lifted by Mizuho from $92.00 to $110.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ALB. Baird R W downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Albemarle from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Albemarle from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Albemarle from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Albemarle from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.38.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $115.11. 4,690,549 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,591,424. The stock has a market cap of $13.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.35 and a beta of 1.70. Albemarle has a 1 year low of $49.43 and a 1 year high of $119.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued 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. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.55) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -101.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at $138,723,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 48.5% during the second 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. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 22,047.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 713,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,613,000 after acquiring an additional 710,589 shares during the last quarter. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,903,000. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the third quarter worth $41,239,000. 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.