Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Downgraded by Evercore ISI to Inline

Evercore ISI lowered shares of Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) from an outperform rating to an inline rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ALB. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “hold” rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.95.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $79.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.77, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.59. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $93.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.01. Albemarle has a 12 month low of $71.97 and a 12 month high of $143.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,833,984 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $363,117,000 after acquiring an additional 20,930 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,741,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $258,797,000 after purchasing an additional 14,874 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Albemarle by 38.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,660,000 after purchasing an additional 282,194 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $85,570,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 741,484 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $63,827,000 after buying an additional 35,765 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.