Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Cut to $105.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $161.00 to $105.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Morgan Stanley‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.39% from the stock’s current price.

ALB has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings raised Albemarle from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price target on Albemarle from $109.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Argus lowered their price target on Albemarle from $230.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.95.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.5%

ALB traded down $1.48 on Monday, hitting $97.77. The company had a trading volume of 839,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,467,787. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $107.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.87. Albemarle has a 1 year low of $89.77 and a 1 year high of $221.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $11.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.63, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.34.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.05. Albemarle had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.19) earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Albemarle will post 11.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Albemarle by 3,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. NFSG Corp raised its position in Albemarle by 470.0% in the 3rd quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 342 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation is a specialty chemicals company that produces lithium, bromine and refining catalysts. Its products serve industries including energy storage, transportation, electronics, petroleum refining and pharmaceuticals.

The company supplies lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries and other applications. It also makes bromine-based products for uses such as flame retardants and water treatment, along with catalysts used in refining petroleum.

Albemarle traces its history to 1887 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.