Rothschild & Co Redburn Has Lowered Expectations for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target decreased by research analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn from $100.00 to $86.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday. Rothschild & Co Redburn‘s target price indicates a potential downside of 8.14% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ALB. Wall Street Zen lowered Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $200.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $161.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Argus cut their target price on Albemarle from $230.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.16.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE:ALB traded down $1.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $93.62. 684,465 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,457,325. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Albemarle has a 1 year low of $89.77 and a 1 year high of $221.00. The company has a market cap of $11.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $104.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.06.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The company’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.19) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 10.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 348.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 440,083 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,552,000 after acquiring an additional 341,926 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter worth $1,096,000. Ingalls & Snyder LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 52.5% during the third quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 3,031 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. AlphaGrep UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 133.0% during the third quarter. AlphaGrep UK Ltd now owns 4,431 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 2,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Albemarle by 212.3% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 17,422 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,843,000 after purchasing an additional 11,843 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation is a specialty chemicals company that produces lithium, bromine and refining catalysts. Its products serve industries including energy storage, transportation, electronics, petroleum refining and pharmaceuticals. The company supplies lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries and other applications. It also makes bromine-based products for uses such as flame retardants and water treatment, along with catalysts used in refining petroleum. Albemarle traces its history to 1887 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.