Scotiabank Issues Positive Forecast for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Scotiabank from $200.00 to $215.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. Scotiabank’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 3.88% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on ALB. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Albemarle from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Evercore upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $194.75.

Albemarle Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $206.97 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $180.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.80. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $24.41 billion, a PE ratio of -60.70, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.36. Albemarle has a one year low of $53.70 and a one year high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Albemarle will post 9.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at $22,995,808.68. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 25.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 26.2% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Albemarle during the first quarter worth about $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at about $411,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Albemarle News

Here are the key news stories impacting Albemarle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank raised Albemarle’s price target to $250 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling more upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies increased its price target to $244, adding to the cluster of bullish analyst calls on Albemarle.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded Albemarle from hold to strong-buy, which can attract momentum and growth-oriented investors. Article: Tickerreport.com report on Zacks Research upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks said Albemarle may be well positioned for further gains, citing solid earnings estimate revisions and favorable lithium market trends.
• Positive Sentiment: The stock was added to Zacks’ Rank #1 Strong Buy lists and momentum screens, reinforcing positive technical and sentiment signals.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles noted that Albemarle has been widely watched and is trending among investors, but these updates mostly reflect existing interest rather than a new fundamental change.

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.