Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $192.46 and last traded at $189.8590, with a volume of 3001353 shares. The stock had previously closed at $189.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ALB. HSBC raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 19th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Albemarle from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Albemarle from $80.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Albemarle from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.16.

Albemarle Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $21.69 billion, a PE ratio of -115.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,163 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,402 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 677 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.