Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) PT Raised to $140.00 at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective boosted by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $125.00 to $140.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on ALB. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho boosted their price objective 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. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen lowered Albemarle from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and dropped their target price for the company from $220.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $172.05.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $133.63 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.65. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $106.69 and a 12-month high of $247.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $123.39 and a 200 day moving average of $125.99.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 58.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALB. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.