Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Given New $128.00 Price Target at Mizuho

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target hoisted by Mizuho from $112.00 to $128.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Mizuho’s price target points to a potential upside of 7.56% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on ALB. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $140.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.85.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:ALB opened at $119.00 on Thursday. Albemarle has a 1 year low of $106.69 and a 1 year high of $247.44. The business has a fifty day moving average of $122.96 and a 200-day moving average of $126.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market cap of $13.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.65.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. Albemarle’s revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.32 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Albemarle will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lewis Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 4,723 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 62.3% in the first quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 13,574 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,788,000 after acquiring an additional 5,213 shares in the last quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. grew its position in Albemarle by 12.5% in the first quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. now owns 21,915 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,887,000 after acquiring an additional 2,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1834 Investment Advisors Co. raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 24.0% during the 1st quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 4,411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 853 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.