Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Lowered to $64.00 at Citigroup

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective reduced by research analysts at Citigroup from $85.00 to $64.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 13.49% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on ALB. Evercore ISI cut shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Clarkson Capital began coverage on Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on Albemarle from $122.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.05.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB opened at $56.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.95. Albemarle has a 52-week low of $49.43 and a 52-week high of $137.50. The firm has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.05 and a beta of 1.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $72.96 and its 200-day moving average is $88.26.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. Sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Albemarle by 340.6% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in Albemarle by 606.5% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. First Community Trust NA raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Albemarle

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.