Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Receives $161.16 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and four have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $161.16.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank raised Albemarle from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $85.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $125.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Dbs Bank boosted their price target on Albemarle from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th.

Albemarle Stock Down 5.2%

Shares of ALB stock traded down $8.82 on Thursday, hitting $159.84. The stock had a trading volume of 476,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,532,859. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Albemarle has a one year low of $49.43 and a one year high of $195.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $152.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.13. The company has a market cap of $18.81 billion, a PE ratio of -100.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $0.73. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 0.43% and a positive return on equity of 0.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.55) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PGGM Investments raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 10.8% during the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $96,080,000 after acquiring an additional 115,081 shares during the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter worth about $3,313,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 14.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 165,074 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $13,384,000 after buying an additional 21,257 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in Albemarle during the second quarter worth about $267,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 866,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,308,000 after acquiring an additional 88,457 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.