Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Downgraded to “Buy” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

ALB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Bank of America upped their target price on Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $166.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.22.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of ALB opened at $117.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of -34.45 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Albemarle has a 12 month low of $64.95 and a 12 month high of $221.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $142.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.79.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -47.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. BOKF NA boosted its stake in Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company’s bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world’s foremost chemical producers.