Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on ALB. Argus raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Albemarle from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Albemarle from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Albemarle from $105.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, October 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.13.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $91.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.79 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.91. Albemarle has a 52-week low of $49.43 and a 52-week high of $113.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%.The firm’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.55) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ALB. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 10,050.0% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 7,257.1% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 74.5% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently 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.