Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $117.30.

Several research analysts have issued reports on ALB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 176.6% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,588,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $209,333,000 after purchasing an additional 3,662,117 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 9,108.7% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 574,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,440,000 after buying an additional 568,563 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth about $49,007,000. PGGM Investments increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 261.6% during the 1st quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 413,492 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,473,000 after acquiring an additional 299,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 115.7% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 542,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $51,791,000 after acquiring an additional 290,862 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $100.57 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $92.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.75. Albemarle has a 52-week low of $71.97 and a 52-week high of $153.54. The firm has a market cap of $11.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.26 and a beta of 1.55.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -34.25%.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.