Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Rating Lowered to Sell at UBS Group

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) was downgraded by analysts at UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $57.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 19.80% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Securities lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.29.

Albemarle Stock Down 4.3%

ALB opened at $71.07 on Friday. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $113.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $61.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.39 and a beta of 1.63.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $0.44. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 22.39% and a negative return on equity of 1.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 340.6% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 74.5% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

About Albemarle

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.