Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target to $157.00

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $138.00 to $157.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on Albemarle in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a peer perform rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Albemarle from a buy rating to a hold rating and lowered their price target for the company from $155.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Mizuho upped their target price on Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Albemarle from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $156.00 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $172.05.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB stock opened at $133.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The company has a market capitalization of $15.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.56, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.65. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $123.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.99. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $106.69 and a 1-year high of $247.44.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter worth about $25,000. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% during the 4th 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 period. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Albemarle by 2,942.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. 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.