BMO Capital Markets Has Lowered Expectations for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price dropped by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets’ target price suggests a potential upside of 82.84% from the stock’s current price.

ALB has been the subject of several other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.24.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Albemarle stock traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $76.57. The company had a trading volume of 3,407,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,373,626. Albemarle has a one year low of $71.97 and a one year high of $143.19. The firm has a market cap of $9.00 billion, a PE ratio of -4.57, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $90.52 and a 200 day moving average of $92.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 28.80% and a positive return on equity of 1.67%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle will post -1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total value of $255,328.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ALB. Quarry LP lifted its position in Albemarle by 1,400.0% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Albemarle by 340.6% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in Albemarle by 606.5% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, First Community Trust NA increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.