Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Lowered to $75.00 at Scotiabank

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target reduced by Scotiabank from $85.00 to $75.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Scotiabank also issued estimates for Albemarle’s Q1 2025 earnings at ($0.14) EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.51 EPS.

ALB has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.68.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $82.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a PE ratio of -7.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.04 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.95. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $71.97 and a 52 week high of $143.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $87.29 and its 200-day moving average is $92.07.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. Sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total value of $255,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Albemarle by 340.6% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in Albemarle by 606.5% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, First Community Trust NA increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.