Mizuho Has Lowered Expectations for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price dropped by investment analysts at Mizuho from $205.00 to $185.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 37.08% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup upgraded Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Albemarle from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Vertical Research upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Bank of America upped their price target on Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, HSBC raised their price objective on Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.33.

Albemarle Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of ALB opened at $134.96 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $60.64 and a 12-month high of $221.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $173.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 26.2% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter worth $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth $411,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.