Robert W. Baird Lowers Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target to $92.00

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price decreased by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $103.00 to $92.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price suggests a potential upside of 16.24% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on ALB. Clarkson Capital began coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.14.

Albemarle Stock Up 3.3 %

NYSE ALB opened at $79.15 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $89.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.73, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $71.97 and a 52 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 1.67% and a negative net margin of 28.80%. On average, analysts predict that Albemarle will post -1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP increased its stake in Albemarle by 1,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in Albemarle by 606.5% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, First Community Trust NA increased its stake in Albemarle by 55.0% during the 4th 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 and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

About Albemarle

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.