Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle (NYSE:ALB – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Monday, November 28th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $345.00 to $295.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Albemarle from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a sector perform rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. Finally, CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. They issued a market perform rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $308.00.

Albemarle Trading Down 2.9 %

Albemarle stock opened at $208.49 on Thursday. Albemarle has a one year low of $185.15 and a one year high of $334.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $254.16 and its 200 day moving average is $262.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.44 billion, a PE ratio of 9.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The specialty chemicals company reported $8.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.46 by $0.16. Albemarle had a net margin of 36.75% and a return on equity of 37.63%. The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 193.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle will post 30.2 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 17th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 16th. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently 6.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CFO Scott Tozier sold 417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.49, for a total value of $106,539.33. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,213,614.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 7,836 shares of company stock valued at $1,917,699 in the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Fairfield Bush & CO. boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 5,565 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $968,000 after buying an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 186.4% in the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,898 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $635,000 after buying an additional 1,886 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 8,785 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,943,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 3,859 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. 82.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Albemarle

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Albemarle Corp. engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop production, food-safety, and custom chemistry services. It operates through the following business segments: Lithium, Bromine, Catalysts, and All Other.