Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Cut to $126.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price reduced by Bank of America from $135.00 to $126.00 in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on ALB. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Albemarle from a buy rating to a hold rating and decreased their price target for the company from $160.00 to $83.00 in a report on Wednesday. HSBC lowered shares of Albemarle from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Scotiabank reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $135.00 price target (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $159.00 to $151.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $136.35.

Albemarle Trading Down 6.6 %

ALB stock traded down $6.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $86.99. The stock had a trading volume of 5,807,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,879,290. The firm has a market cap of $10.22 billion, a PE ratio of 31.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $82.25 and a 12-month high of $214.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $102.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.52.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.49). The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.38% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. The firm’s revenue was down 39.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Albemarle will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is 58.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Albemarle by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 20,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,720,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. USCF Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 100.0% in 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. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 18,298 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,644,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in Albemarle by 65.3% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 276 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.