Truist Financial Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target decreased by research analysts at Truist Financial from $96.00 to $85.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 4.68% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI cut Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.38.

Albemarle Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $81.20 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $89.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.31. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $143.19. The company has a market cap of $9.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.85, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.59.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 positive return on equity of 1.67% and a negative net margin of 28.80%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle will post -1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $85,570,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 9,108.7% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 574,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,440,000 after buying an additional 568,563 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $39,405,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,594,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,256,294,000 after buying an additional 359,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 36.7% during 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 buying an additional 320,150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.