Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Given New $150.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target lowered by Scotiabank from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector outperform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Scotiabank also issued estimates for Albemarle’s FY2024 earnings at $2.39 EPS.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Albemarle from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $137.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Albemarle in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a peer perform rating for the company. Vertical Research cut shares of Albemarle from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $171.80.

Albemarle Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $130.78 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $15.37 billion, a PE ratio of 47.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $123.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.95. Albemarle has a 52-week low of $106.69 and a 52-week high of $247.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Albemarle will post 2.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently 58.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALB. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 128.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,076,357 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,022,420,000 after purchasing an additional 3,979,885 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $377,341,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Albemarle by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,185,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $749,235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,667,164 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,800,219 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $838,025,000 after acquiring an additional 1,396,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 55.8% during the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,476,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $502,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245,719 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

About Albemarle

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.