Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $192.46 and last traded at $189.8590, with a volume of 3001353 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $189.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Dbs Bank lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Albemarle from $152.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Argus boosted their price target on Albemarle from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $210.00 price target on shares of Albemarle and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.04.

Albemarle Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $22.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -119.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $145.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.30.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.55) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PGGM Investments boosted its stake in Albemarle by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,080,000 after purchasing an additional 115,081 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,313,000. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 14.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 165,074 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,384,000 after buying an additional 21,257 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the second quarter worth $267,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 11.4% in the second quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 866,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,308,000 after buying an additional 88,457 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.