Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $200.00 to $216.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 26.37% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on ALB. Bank of America raised Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $167.00 to $190.00 in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $147.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised their price target on Albemarle from $75.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.52.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.2%

Albemarle stock opened at $170.92 on Tuesday. Albemarle has a 12 month low of $49.43 and a 12 month high of $195.68. The company has a market capitalization of $20.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.44. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 10.74% and a positive return on equity of 0.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.09) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,468 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $816,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 2,423 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.