Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Albemarle's rating from "hold" to "strong-buy," reflecting positive sentiment among analysts regarding the company's future performance.
• Albemarle's stock price target was raised by multiple brokerages, with Scotiabank increasing its target to $70.00 and Mizuho setting a target of $92.00.
• Despite a tough earnings report with a negative net margin, Albemarle reported a surprising $0.11 EPS, beating the consensus estimate significantly.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on ALB. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $74.00 target price on Albemarle and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their price target on Albemarle from $78.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $89.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $87.47.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of ALB stock opened at $91.68 on Tuesday. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $49.43 and a 1-year high of $113.91. The company has a market cap of $10.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.84 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.11.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.94. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. The firm's revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.04 EPS. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 10,050.0% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its stake in Albemarle by 74.5% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 7,257.1% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.

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