Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Raised to $210.00

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $145.00 to $210.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 17.97% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on ALB. Dbs Bank upped their price target on Albemarle from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Stephens restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $152.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.28.

Albemarle Stock Up 3.2%

NYSE ALB traded up $5.48 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $178.02. The company had a trading volume of 928,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,436,352. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $139.27 and its 200 day moving average is $103.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $180.00. The company has a market capitalization of $20.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -111.05, a P/E/G ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 3,332 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,402 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 18.2% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 677 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 36.8% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp increased its stake in Albemarle by 1.2% during the third quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 10,160 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Albemarle

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.