Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Lowered to $85.00 at Citigroup

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price reduced by research analysts at Citigroup from $115.00 to $85.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 7.40% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on ALB. Evercore ISI lowered Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial started coverage on Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $96.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho cut their price objective on Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.14.

Albemarle Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $79.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.59. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $71.97 and a 1-year high of $143.19. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $89.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.39.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 28.80% and a positive return on equity of 1.67%. Equities research analysts expect that Albemarle will post -1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total value of $255,328.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 38.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $96,660,000 after acquiring an additional 282,194 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Albemarle by 71.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,287,000 after buying an additional 6,234 shares in the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 28,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,481,000 after buying an additional 4,899 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 28.7% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,839,000 after buying an additional 157,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 32.4% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 521,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,395,000 after buying an additional 127,549 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.