Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Citigroup from $95.00 to $100.00 in a report issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 3.01% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Baird R W cut shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $78.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Scotiabank upped their price target on Albemarle from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Albemarle from $74.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.74.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB opened at $97.08 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $88.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The company has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.42 and a beta of 1.70. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $49.43 and a 1-year high of $113.91.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $0.73. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.55) EPS. Research analysts predict that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,238,000. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 6.7% in the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth $271,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Albemarle by 3.6% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 184,426 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,282,000 after purchasing an additional 6,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 6.2% in the first quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 22,310 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is 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.