Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Given New $87.00 Price Target at HSBC

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price boosted by research analysts at HSBC from $75.00 to $87.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. HSBC’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 10.39% from the stock’s current price.

ALB has been the subject of several other reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on Albemarle in a report on Friday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of Albemarle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised Albemarle from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Baird R W lowered Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.74.

Albemarle Trading Up 6.4%

Shares of ALB opened at $97.08 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.42 and a beta of 1.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $88.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.21. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $49.43 and a 1-year high of $113.91.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.73. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%.The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.55) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 50,326 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,624,000 after acquiring an additional 4,872 shares in the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 5.2% in the first quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 243,036 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,503,000 after purchasing an additional 12,014 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter worth approximately $271,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.6% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 184,426 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $13,282,000 after purchasing an additional 6,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bard Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,850,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.