Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Raised to $230.00

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price upped by Jefferies Financial Group from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ALB. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $80.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $145.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Rothschild Redb upgraded Albemarle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.16.

Albemarle Trading Down 5.7%

Shares of ALB opened at $170.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.27. Albemarle has a 52-week low of $49.43 and a 52-week high of $195.68. The firm has a market cap of $20.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -107.20, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s fifty day moving average is $150.04 and its 200-day moving average is $108.90.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.55) earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,954,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $184,782,000 after acquiring an additional 59,104 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,870,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $179,870,000 after purchasing an additional 937,538 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $138,723,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,475,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $119,710,000 after purchasing an additional 52,698 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $102,464,000 after purchasing an additional 22,856 shares during the last quarter. 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.