Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Shares Up 9.6% Following Analyst Upgrade

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)’s share price shot up 9.6% during trading on Friday after Dbs Bank raised their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $120.00. Dbs Bank currently has a buy rating on the stock. Albemarle traded as high as $105.77 and last traded at $106.71. 2,559,318 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 3,562,078 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.36.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $89.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 10,050.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 7,257.1% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 74.5% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 8.5%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $85.52 and its 200-day moving average is $71.31. The stock has a market cap of $12.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.34 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.31.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.94. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.