Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Upgraded at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $190.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $167.00.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Evercore upped their target price on Albemarle from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Albemarle from $159.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $145.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.52.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB stock opened at $168.32 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $161.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $19.84 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 10.74% and a positive return on equity of 0.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.09) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. PGGM Investments raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,080,000 after buying an additional 115,081 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the third quarter worth about $3,313,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 165,074 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $13,384,000 after purchasing an additional 21,257 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $267,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 866,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,308,000 after purchasing an additional 88,457 shares during the period. 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.