Clarkson Capital Initiates Coverage on Albemarle (NYSE:ALB)

Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $112.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.65.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE ALB opened at $92.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.89. 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 has a one year low of $71.97 and a one year high of $143.19. The firm has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.53 and a beta of 1.58.

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 issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -9.67%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP increased its stake in Albemarle by 1,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 61.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.