Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Rating Raised to “Outperform” at Mizuho

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Mizuho from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $130.00 target price on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 32.95% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on ALB. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $161.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Monday, August 10th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their target price on Albemarle from $188.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.96.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $97.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Albemarle has a 1 year low of $88.01 and a 1 year high of $221.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $121.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.18. The stock has a market cap of $11.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 362.18, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.36.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.55. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Albemarle will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ALB. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and markets materials used in energy storage, transportation, consumer products and industrial applications. The company is best known for its lithium business, which supplies lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics and energy-storage systems.

Albemarle also produces bromine-based specialty chemicals used in areas such as fire safety, water treatment, pharmaceutical manufacturing and other industrial processes.