Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation, thirteen have given a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $167.52.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on Albemarle from $75.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. HSBC raised 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at approximately $138,723,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $165,271,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 48.5% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,870,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $179,870,000 after acquiring an additional 937,538 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd. purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth $130,415,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Albemarle by 4,338.5% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 738,430 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $104,444,000 after acquiring an additional 721,793 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of ALB stock opened at $168.33 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $19.84 billion, a PE ratio of -29.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.44. Albemarle has a 1 year low of $49.43 and a 1 year high of $195.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $161.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.20. 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 released its quarterly 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 for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.09) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.