Zacks Research Upgrades Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) to “Strong-Buy”

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

ALB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Berenberg Bank set a $153.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Albemarle from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $194.13.

Albemarle Stock Down 2.1%

ALB stock opened at $205.66 on Monday. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $53.70 and a 52 week high of $221.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -60.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.80.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. Albemarle’s revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 9.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $2,012,654.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $230,603,000 after purchasing an additional 207,770 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at about $138,723,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.7% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,475,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $119,710,000 after purchasing an additional 52,698 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 1.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $102,464,000 after purchasing an additional 22,856 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,241,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $175,542,000 after purchasing an additional 453,881 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Albemarle

Here are the key news stories impacting Albemarle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank raised its price target on Albemarle to $250 and kept a buy rating, signaling continued upside potential. Article link
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lifted its target to $253 and reiterated outperform, while Jefferies and Argus also boosted targets, reinforcing a bullish Street view. Article link
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks added ALB to its Rank #1 Strong Buy list and highlighted strong earnings estimate revisions and momentum strength. Article link
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary points to Albemarle’s 26% three-month rally, supported by lithium price tailwinds, solid demand, and an improved earnings outlook. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles simply note elevated investor attention and compare ALB’s performance with the broader basic materials sector, without adding a major new catalyst. Article link

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company’s bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world’s foremost chemical producers.