Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Raised to $180.00 at Citigroup

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $150.00 to $180.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 4.94% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Albemarle from $80.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $125.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Scotiabank raised Albemarle from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $85.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $118.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.16.

Albemarle Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of NYSE ALB traded up $6.59 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $171.52. The company had a trading volume of 385,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,594,612. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $20.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -108.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s 50-day moving average is $151.02 and its 200-day moving average is $110.07. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $49.43 and a 52 week high of $195.68.

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

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Albemarle by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,402 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 677 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.