Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Cut to $127.00 by Analysts at Robert W. Baird

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective reduced by Robert W. Baird from $170.00 to $127.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Bank of America raised shares of Albemarle from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $157.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, May 24th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Albemarle from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $124.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $148.32.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $97.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $11.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.58, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.57. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $90.32 and a fifty-two week high of $246.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The firm’s revenue was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $10.32 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Albemarle will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction of $114,251.79. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 610.0% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. USCF Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Albemarle by 2,942.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.