Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Lowered to $114.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective reduced by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $133.00 to $114.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 48.88% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on ALB. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.50.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE ALB traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $76.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,392,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,373,626. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.44. The stock 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $90.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.59. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $143.19.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 28.80% and a positive return on equity of 1.67%. Analysts forecast that Albemarle will post -1.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total value of $255,328.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Albemarle by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,594,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,256,294,000 after purchasing an additional 359,014 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,833,984 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $363,117,000 after buying an additional 20,930 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,795,891 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $240,044,000 after acquiring an additional 53,985 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 36.7% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,192,527 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $102,653,000 after acquiring an additional 320,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,040,970 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,607,000 after acquiring an additional 20,380 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.