Oppenheimer Raises Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target to $222.00

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price boosted by analysts at Oppenheimer from $216.00 to $222.00 in a report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s target price points to a potential upside of 27.97% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $156.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $167.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. HSBC raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, January 19th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.84.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $173.47 on Monday. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $50.85 and a 1-year high of $206.00. The company has a market capitalization of $20.45 billion, a PE ratio of -30.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $170.81 and a 200-day moving average of $141.99.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.The company’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.09) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,995,808.68. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PGGM Investments raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,080,000 after buying an additional 115,081 shares in the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle during the third quarter worth about $3,313,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 14.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 165,074 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $13,384,000 after acquiring an additional 21,257 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $6,171,000. Finally, Bard Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 45.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 42,895 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,478,000 after acquiring an additional 13,380 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.