Evercore Issues Positive Forecast for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Evercore from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. Evercore’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 3.51% from the stock’s current price.

ALB has been the subject of several other research reports. Scotiabank upgraded Albemarle from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Dbs Bank upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $165.00 price objective on Albemarle in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Albemarle from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.52.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB stock traded up $4.98 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $173.90. 97,882 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,358,120. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $20.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.44. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $195.68.

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

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,954,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $184,782,000 after buying an additional 59,104 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,870,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $179,870,000 after acquiring an additional 937,538 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $230,603,000 after buying an additional 207,770 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the third quarter worth $138,723,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Albemarle by 3.7% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,475,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $119,710,000 after buying an additional 52,698 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.