Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Posted by George Bondi on Jul 22nd, 2026

Zacks Research cut shares of Albemarle (NYSE:ALB – Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on ALB. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $230.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Argus raised their target price on Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.87.

View Our Latest Research Report on Albemarle

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $118.56 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $152.87 and its 200 day moving average is $167.96. Albemarle has a one year low of $64.95 and a one year high of $221.00. The firm has a market cap of $13.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.77 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Albemarle will post 12.95 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is an increase from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -47.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total value of $3,011,721.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $165,271,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at $130,415,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 4,338.5% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 738,430 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $104,444,000 after buying an additional 721,793 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 22,047.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth about $47,088,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.