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

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective raised by research analysts at Evercore from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. Evercore’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 6.94% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on ALB. Dbs Bank upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $210.00 price target on Albemarle and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Argus lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Truist Financial raised 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $167.52.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.7%

Albemarle stock opened at $168.32 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.23. The company has a market cap of $19.84 billion, a PE ratio of -29.27, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.44. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $195.68.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.13). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.09) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.5% in the fourth 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 during 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 valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 1.9% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in 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 buying an additional 78 shares during 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.