Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Raised to $140.00

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price increased by Citigroup from $125.00 to $140.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Citigroup‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 41.95% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $161.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target (down from $185.00) on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.64.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:ALB traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $98.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,117,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,469,501. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $107.59 and a 200-day moving average of $147.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.34. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $89.77 and a 12-month high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.05. Albemarle had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.19) EPS. Albemarle’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post 11.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 15,408.6% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 358,715 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,945,000 after acquiring an additional 356,402 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 1,487.5% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 21,241 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,247,000 after purchasing an additional 19,903 shares in the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,128 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. raised its stake in Albemarle by 1,034.0% in the 3rd quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 17,429 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,844,000 after purchasing an additional 15,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S raised its stake in Albemarle by 56,770.5% in the 3rd quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 227,482 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $24,063,000 after purchasing an additional 227,082 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation is a specialty chemicals company that produces lithium, bromine and refining catalysts. Its products serve industries including energy storage, transportation, electronics, petroleum refining and pharmaceuticals.

The company supplies lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries and other applications. It also makes bromine-based products for uses such as flame retardants and water treatment, along with catalysts used in refining petroleum.

Albemarle traces its history to 1887 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.