According to Bloomberg.com, Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts currently covering the firm. Of these, two analysts have given a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation, while thirteen have recommended buying the company’s stock. The average one-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage in the past year is $269.95.
In terms of investment activity, various hedge funds and institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Albemarle during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Core Alternative Capital raised its holdings in Albemarle by 342.9% during the same quarter, now owning 124 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares. Similarly, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in Albemarle by 188.1% and now owns 121 shares valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares.
Furthermore, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Albemarle by 51.2% during the first quarter and now owns 130 shares worth $29,000 after buying an additional 44 shares. Lastly, PrairieView Partners LLC significantly increased its holdings in Albemarle by an impressive 15,300% during the second quarter and currently holds 154 shares valued at $34,000.
It is notable that approximately 84.71% of Albemarle’s stock is owned by institutional investors.
Albemarle announced a quarterly dividend recently which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Stockholders who were listed as owners on Friday, September 15th will receive a $0.40 dividend per share. The ex-dividend date for this payout occurred on Thursday, September 14th. Considering an annualized dividend of $1.60, the current dividend yield stands at 0.94%. It is noteworthy that Albemarle has a relatively low payout ratio of 4.81%.
For further insights and research on Albemarle, readers can refer to our latest report available on our platform.
In conclusion, Albemarle Co. has generated a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from analysts covering the company. The firm has received sell recommendations from two analysts, hold recommendations from five analysts, and buy recommendations from thirteen analysts. The average one-year price objective among these analysts is $269.95. Moreover, several hedge funds and other institutional investors have bought shares of Albemarle recently. The company also announced a quarterly dividend payment scheduled for Monday, October 2nd with an ex-dividend date of Thursday, September 14th.
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Mixed Analyst Opinions on Albemarle Leave Investors Perplexed
In recent days, numerous equities analysts have provided their input on the stock of Albemarle (NYSE:ALB), generating varied opinions that have left investors perplexed. Piper Sandler, for example, decreased the price target on Albemarle shares from $275.00 to $255.00 and bestowed an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note issued on September 1st. On the other hand, KeyCorp took a more optimistic stance by raising their price target from $270.00 to $291.00 and assigning an “overweight” rating to Albemarle in a report released on June 26th.
Royal Bank of Canada also expressed confidence in the company’s performance when they boosted their target price from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave Albemarle an “outperform” rating in August 2023. Mizuho, however, adopted a more neutral position by reiterating their “neutral” rating but slightly increasing the price objective from $225.00 to $227.00 in early August.
Meanwhile, Evercore ISI took a slightly different approach by reducing their target price on Albemarle shares from $295.00 to $280.00 and maintaining an “outperform” rating in a research report issued on September 8th.
Considering these mixed opinions from analysts, shareholders of NYSE ALB appeared uncertain as trading began on Monday with shares opening at $170.04.
When analyzing key financial ratios, it is worth noting that Albemarle exhibits a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 0.88, indicating sufficient liquidity for its operations at present.
Furthermore, the debt-to-equity ratio stands at 0.35, highlighting Albemarle’s prudent approach to managing its debts relative to equity.
With regards to market capitalization which currently stands at $19.95 billion, Albemarle’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is reported at 5.12.
The company also boasts a promising price-to-earnings-growth (PEG) ratio of 0.56, suggesting potential for future growth opportunities in line with its current valuation.
In terms of market volatility, investors should be mindful that Albemarle has a beta of 1.56, indicating above-average fluctuations in share prices compared to the broader market.
Reflecting upon historical performance, while the stock experienced a low of $162.00 over the past year, it reached a peak of $334.55 during the same period.
In examining recent financial results, Albemarle reported earnings per share (EPS) of $7.33 for the most recent quarter ended on August 3rd, surpassing the consensus estimate of $4.27 by an impressive margin of $3.06.
Additionally, revenue for the quarter amounted to $2.37 billion, slightly below analyst estimates of $2.42 billion but still marking a substantial increase from last year’s figures.
With a return on equity surpassing industry standards at 45.88%, and an impressive net margin of 40.55%, Albemarle demonstrated its ability to generate significant profits from its specialty chemicals enterprise.
Analysts are predicting that Albemarle will post earnings per share (EPS) of 26.09 for the fiscal year as a whole, leaving investors eager to see if the company can deliver on these expectations.
Although conflicting viewpoints from equities analysts have left investors feeling uncertain about Albemarle’s prospects in this highly competitive market environment, shareholders remain optimistic as they await further developments and financial reports from this renowned specialty chemicals company in order to make well-informed investment decisions moving forward.
Note: This article is purely fictional and does not reflect any real stock market situation or company performance.
