Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB – Get Rating) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twenty-one ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $291.39.

ALB has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $345.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 13th. Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 3rd. Finally, Vertical Research raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:ALB opened at $264.59 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $248.26 and a 200-day moving average of $259.38. The company has a market cap of $31.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.45. Albemarle has a one year low of $169.93 and a one year high of $334.55.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $7.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 27.77% and a return on equity of 26.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 151.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Albemarle will post 20.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In related news, insider Eric Norris sold 2,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.80, for a total transaction of $735,642.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,790,599.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Albemarle news, insider Eric Norris sold 2,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.80, for a total value of $735,642.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,790,599.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott Tozier sold 1,719 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $378,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 63,384 shares in the company, valued at $13,944,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,681 shares of company stock worth $5,310,662. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 51.2% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 130 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 92.3% during the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 175 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 82.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Company Profile

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Albemarle Corp. engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop production, food-safety, and custom chemistry services. It operates through the following segments: Lithium, Bromine, Catalysts, and All Other.