Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Receives "Underperform" Rating from Robert W. Baird

Key Points

• Albemarle's stock was downgraded from "neutral" to "underperform" by Robert W. Baird, with a target price set at $60.00, indicating a potential downside of nearly 20% from its current price.
• Five analysts rated Albemarle with a sell rating while ten gave it a hold rating, leading to an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus price target of $91.00.
• In the latest earnings report, Albemarle reported a loss of ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS), outperforming consensus estimates, but its revenue was down 20.9% year-over-year to $1.08 billion.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "underperform" rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Robert W. Baird in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $60.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Robert W. Baird's price target would indicate a potential downside of 11.69% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group set a $57.00 price objective on Albemarle and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Albemarle from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.68.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB traded up $0.09 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.94. The company had a trading volume of 4,276,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,470,578. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.11. Albemarle has a 12 month low of $49.43 and a 12 month high of $113.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.29 and a beta of 1.63.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.94. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.88% and a negative net margin of 18.61%. Albemarle's revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.04 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,482 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $594,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in Albemarle by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 22,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,496,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Albemarle by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,657 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,414,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,355 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $977,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in Albemarle by 74.5% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.