Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Berenberg Bank raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Albemarle from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.04.

Albemarle Trading Up 7.2%

Shares of ALB opened at $170.59 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.03. The company has a market capitalization of $20.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -50.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $55.90 and a 1-year high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. The business 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 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total value of $3,011,721.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 25.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 26.2% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at $411,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 536.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.