HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) in a research note published on Monday, December 3rd, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a hold rating and a $112.50 target price on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.
ALB has been the subject of a number of other reports. SunTrust Banks raised shares of Albemarle from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the company from $110.00 to $115.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 4th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Albemarle from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, November 20th. Loop Capital set a $130.00 price target on shares of Albemarle and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank set a $130.00 price target on shares of Albemarle and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, November 9th. Finally, ValuEngine downgraded shares of Albemarle from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a report on Tuesday, August 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $120.48.
Shares of ALB traded down $3.64 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $76.16. 4,684,500 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,737,557. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $8.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.52. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $73.67 and a twelve month high of $138.67.
Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $778.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $796.79 million. Albemarle had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 15.39%. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Albemarle will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 14th will be given a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently 29.19%.
In other Albemarle news, EVP Karen G. Narwold sold 3,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.54, for a total value of $299,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,620,288.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 31.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 4,270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Aperio Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Aperio Group LLC now owns 51,021 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,813,000 after purchasing an additional 3,108 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 62,540 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,899,000 after purchasing an additional 9,574 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 375,111 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $35,384,000 after purchasing an additional 57,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 861,018 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $81,220,000 after purchasing an additional 55,732 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.
