Albemarle’s (ALB) Neutral Rating Reiterated at Robert W. Baird

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating restated by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $210.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 2.52% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $189.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday. HSBC raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $153.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.60.

Albemarle Stock Up 16.2%

Shares of ALB stock opened at $215.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Albemarle has a 1 year low of $50.85 and a 1 year high of $215.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $173.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.46, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.43.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.09) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CPC Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth about $1,603,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 44.5% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 180,759 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,452,000 after buying an additional 55,642 shares during the period. Evolve Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth about $423,000. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Evexia Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Evexia Wealth LLC now owns 2,088 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $387,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. 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.