Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Upgraded at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) to a hold rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target 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 price objective on Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their target price on Albemarle from $188.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.96.

Albemarle Trading Up 0.3%

Albemarle stock opened at $97.91 on Monday. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $88.01 and a 52 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 market capitalization of $11.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 362.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $120.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.64.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The company’s revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 11.25 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a $0.41 dividend. This is an increase from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.4050. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 607.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Nvwm LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 105,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 5,270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 5,265 shares during the last quarter. Ashurst Perkins Coie Trust Co bought a new stake in Albemarle during the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in Albemarle by 53.1% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,383 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management grew its holdings in Albemarle by 30.8% during the third quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 3,532 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Morris Harris LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle during the third quarter valued at approximately $391,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and markets materials used in energy storage, transportation, consumer products and industrial applications. The company is best known for its lithium business, which supplies lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics and energy-storage systems.

Albemarle also produces bromine-based specialty chemicals used in areas such as fire safety, water treatment, pharmaceutical manufacturing and other industrial processes.