<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $136.00 to $145.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Albemarle traded as high as $137.94 and last traded at $138.4950, with a volume of 625106 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.07.</p><ul><li>3 Signals Pointing to a Turnaround for Albemarle</li></ul><p>Several other analysts also recently commented on ALB. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $87.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a &#34;hold&#34; rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a &#34;buy&#34; rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Robert W. Baird  set a $113.00 price objective on Albemarle and gave the company a &#34;neutral&#34; rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Albemarle from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an &#34;in-line&#34; rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. upped their price objective on Albemarle from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a &#34;neutral&#34; rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. One equities research analyst  has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eighteen have issued  a Hold rating and two have issued  a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle  has a consensus rating of &#34;Hold&#34; and a consensus target price of $114.13.</p><p><b>Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on ALB</b></p><h2>Institutional Trading of Albemarle</h2><ul><li>5 Surprising Stocks Set to Benefit From a Future Robotics Boom</li></ul><p>Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ALB. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in  Albemarle by 2.8% in the third quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 3,332 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter.  EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in  Albemarle by 18.2% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 677 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period.  Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of  Albemarle by 36.8% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter.  Money Concepts Capital Corp grew its position in shares of  Albemarle by 1.2% during the third quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 10,160 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter.  Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in  Albemarle by 7.5% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,730 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own  92.87% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Albemarle Stock Performance</h2><p>The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $110.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.18 billion, a PE ratio of -86.46 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.51. </p><ul><li>5 EV Battery and Lithium Stocks Charging the Future</li></ul><p>Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $0.73. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.10% and a negative net margin of 0.43%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.55) earnings per share.  Research analysts expect that  Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year. </p><h2>Albemarle Dividend Announcement</h2><p>The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio  is presently -101.89%. </p><h2>About Albemarle</h2> (Get Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>Further Reading</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Albemarle</li><li>What Is WallStreetBets and What Stocks Are They Targeting?</li><li>3 Tech Stocks Down Over 60%—Which One Is Worth Buying?</li><li>Manufacturing Stocks Investing</li><li>25 Years Later, Cisco Finally Recovers From the Dot-Com Crash</li><li>How to Short a Stock in 5 Easy Steps </li><li>AI Chips Can’t Exist Without These 2 Underrated Tech Giants</li></ul><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Albemarle Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Albemarle, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Albemarle wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Albemarle currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) reached a new 52-week high after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target from $136.00 to $145.00, maintaining an outperform rating. The stock traded as high as $137.94 and closed at $138.4950. Other analysts also raised their target prices. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the stock. Albemarle reported a quarterly revenue of $1.31 billion and a negative net margin of 0.43%. The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, payable on January 2nd.</p>

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade