Berenberg Bank Raises Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target to $192.00

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Berenberg Bank from $153.00 to $192.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Berenberg Bank’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.80% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ALB. Zacks Research raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Albemarle from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $236.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.04.

Albemarle Trading Down 2.7%

NYSE ALB opened at $171.73 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $183.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.66. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $53.70 and a twelve month high of $221.00. The company has a market capitalization of $20.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.36, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.31.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 12.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. bought a new position in Albemarle in the 1st quarter worth $251,000. Essential Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 73.3% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 383 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in Albemarle by 4.5% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 50,400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,048,000 after buying an additional 2,153 shares in the last quarter. Bull Harbor Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter worth about $247,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter worth about $94,815,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by 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.