Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Cut to $120.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective dropped by analysts at Bank of America from $131.00 to $120.00 in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Bank of America‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 28.18% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on ALB. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $157.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Zacks Research raised shares of Albemarle from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Albemarle from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $161.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $155.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.63.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE ALB traded down $1.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $93.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 706,251 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,457,464. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.06. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $89.77 and a twelve month high of $221.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.34.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.05. Albemarle had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.19) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post 10.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the second quarter worth about $358,101,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 69.7% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,436,117 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $151,912,000 after purchasing an additional 589,787 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 78.5% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 730,745 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $131,191,000 after buying an additional 321,400 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $131,049,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 652,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $117,178,000 after buying an additional 4,374 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation is a specialty chemicals company that produces lithium, bromine and refining catalysts. Its products serve industries including energy storage, transportation, electronics, petroleum refining and pharmaceuticals. The company supplies lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries and other applications. It also makes bromine-based products for uses such as flame retardants and water treatment, along with catalysts used in refining petroleum. Albemarle traces its history to 1887 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.