Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Rating Increased to Buy at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $190.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $167.00.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on ALB. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $125.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.32.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $168.72 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $19.88 billion, a PE ratio of -29.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.07. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $49.43 and a 1-year high of $195.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.13). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.09) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,468 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas increased its stake in Albemarle by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 2,423 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 78 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.