Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Upgraded to Hold at Baird R W

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) was upgraded by analysts at Baird R W from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

ALB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Albemarle from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up from $95.00) on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Albemarle from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.25.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $124.48 on Tuesday. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $49.43 and a 52 week high of $132.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $14.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -78.86 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $101.67 and a 200-day moving average of $81.69.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.73. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 0.43% and a positive return on equity of 0.10%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.55) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 3,332 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 18.2% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 677 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 36.8% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 10,160 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,730 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Albemarle

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.