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

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Mizuho from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 0.63% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on ALB. Zacks Research lowered shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $165.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.04.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $203.72 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $179.56 and its 200-day moving average is $154.41. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $53.70 and a 12-month high of $221.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $24.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -59.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.36.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle will post 8.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Evexia Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Evexia Wealth LLC now owns 2,088 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $816,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 2,952 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Albemarle News

Here are the key news stories impacting Albemarle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target on Albemarle to $225 from $210, suggesting further upside potential even though the rating remained neutral. Benzinga report on Citigroup target hike
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts increased price targets this week, including Wells Fargo, Robert W. Baird, and Mizuho, signaling improving sentiment toward Albemarle’s outlook. Tickerreport.com
• Positive Sentiment: Albemarle beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $2.95 versus $1.24 expected, while revenue also topped forecasts, driven by stronger lithium pricing and volumes. Zacks value-stock article
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage around the earnings call highlighted strong momentum, reinforcing the view that Albemarle’s operating trends improved meaningfully in the quarter. TipRanks earnings call summary
• Neutral Sentiment: One article compared Albemarle with LyondellBasell from a value-investing perspective, but it was more of a relative valuation discussion than a direct catalyst. Zacks comparison article

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.