Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) PT Lowered to $124.00 at UBS Group

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target cut by UBS Group from $132.00 to $124.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on ALB. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $157.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, May 24th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Albemarle from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $165.11.

Albemarle Trading Down 4.0 %

NYSE:ALB opened at $103.51 on Thursday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $122.40 and a 200-day moving average of $125.35. The company has a market cap of $12.17 billion, a PE ratio of 37.64, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.61. Albemarle has a one year low of $103.32 and a one year high of $247.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $10.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Albemarle will post 2.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2,942.9% in 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. Finally, First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 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.