Jefferies Financial Group Has Lowered Expectations for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $244.00 to $211.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 53.32% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Vertical Research raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Argus raised their target price on Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.17.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $137.62 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business’s 50 day moving average is $174.92 and its 200-day moving average is $169.40. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $60.64 and a 1-year high of $221.00. The firm has a market cap of $16.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.31.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Albemarle will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $165,271,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $130,415,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 4,338.5% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 738,430 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $104,444,000 after buying an additional 721,793 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 22,047.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 713,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,613,000 after buying an additional 710,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth about $47,088,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.