Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Given New $157.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $138.00 to $157.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 19.28% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. TD Cowen lowered shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $191.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $137.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.05.

Albemarle Trading Up 0.6 %

ALB opened at $131.62 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $106.69 and a fifty-two week high of $247.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.47 billion, a PE ratio of 47.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s 50-day moving average is $123.51 and its 200 day moving average is $125.90.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $10.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Albemarle will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 128.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,076,357 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,022,420,000 after acquiring an additional 3,979,885 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth $377,341,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Albemarle by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,185,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $749,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667,164 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in Albemarle by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,800,219 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $838,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396,624 shares during the period. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in Albemarle by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,476,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $502,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245,719 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.