Robert W. Baird Reiterates “Neutral” Rating for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB)

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Robert W. Baird in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $210.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price indicates a potential upside of 6.27% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. HSBC upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Stephens reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Albemarle from $145.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.60.

Albemarle Trading Down 8.4%

Shares of ALB stock opened at $197.61 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.43. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $50.85 and a 12-month high of $215.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $173.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.42.

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

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at $22,995,808.68. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PGGM Investments raised its position in Albemarle by 10.8% during the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $96,080,000 after purchasing an additional 115,081 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,313,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 14.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 165,074 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $13,384,000 after purchasing an additional 21,257 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,171,000. Finally, Altfest L J & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,055,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.