Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-three analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $115.65.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ALB shares. Mizuho reduced their price target on Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Clarkson Capital started coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $88.71 on Friday. Albemarle has a 1 year low of $71.97 and a 1 year high of $143.19. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.66. The company has a market capitalization of $10.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.30, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.44.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -9.67%.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in Albemarle by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,833,984 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $363,117,000 after acquiring an additional 20,930 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,741,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $258,797,000 after purchasing an additional 14,874 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 10.2% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,568,602 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $149,833,000 after buying an additional 144,705 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Albemarle by 2.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,311,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $125,264,000 after buying an additional 29,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,198,730 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $114,503,000 after buying an additional 127,615 shares during the last quarter. 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.