Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Given New $225.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target lifted by Bank of America from $190.00 to $225.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 13.95% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Albemarle from $145.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research downgraded Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Albemarle from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Albemarle from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $174.00.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock traded up $2.63 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $197.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 260,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,681,079. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $174.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.60. The firm has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a PE ratio of -34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.43. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $53.33 and a 52 week high of $215.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 10.74% and a positive return on equity of 0.41%. The company’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.09) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $2,012,654.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter worth about $138,723,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $165,271,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $130,415,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 4,338.5% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 738,430 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $104,444,000 after acquiring an additional 721,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 22,047.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 713,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,613,000 after acquiring an additional 710,589 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.