Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Cut to $211.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from $244.00 to $211.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 53.32% from the company’s current price.

ALB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Vertical Research raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Bank of America increased their target price on Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.17.

Albemarle Stock Up 6.1%

Albemarle stock opened at $137.62 on Tuesday. Albemarle has a one year low of $60.64 and a one year high of $221.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $174.92 and a 200 day moving average of $169.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.07. The stock has a market cap of $16.23 billion, a PE ratio of -40.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.31.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total value of $3,011,721.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at $16,078,990.68. The trade was a 15.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $484,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 1,455.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,921,000 after purchasing an additional 30,862 shares during the period. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth about $54,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 4.9% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 9.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,679 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.