Brokerages Set Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Price Target at $190.04

Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALBGet Free Report) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-six analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and fifteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $190.0435.

ALB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued a “reduce” rating and issued a $161.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Monday, August 10th.

View Our Latest Report on Albemarle

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 190.1% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 293 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 121.5% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $113.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 420.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.33. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $78.91 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.80.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALBGet Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Albemarle will post 11.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 607.41%.

About Albemarle

(Get Free Report)

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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Analyst Recommendations for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB)

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