Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Cut to $58.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $68.00 to $58.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential downside of 0.51% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on ALB. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Securities reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.90.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $58.30. 246,546 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,970,115. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.95. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.86. The company has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.21 and a beta of 1.71. Albemarle has a 1 year low of $49.43 and a 1 year high of $137.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by $0.44. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Albemarle by 71.5% during the 4th 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 during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 20.5% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 172.1% in the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,405 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 4,051 shares in the last quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 50.5% during the 4th quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. now owns 38,964 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,354,000 after acquiring an additional 13,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at $218,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.