Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Shares Up 9.6% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Albemarle's shares rose 9.6% to $106.71 after Dbs Bank raised their price target from $100 to $120, maintaining a buy rating on the stock.
• Despite a positive analyst upgrade, the average daily trading volume decreased by 28%, with approximately 2.56 million shares trading hands.
• Albemarle's earnings report revealed a positive EPS of $0.11, exceeding expectations, but the company saw a revenue decline of 7.0% year-over-year.

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) was up 9.6% on Friday after Dbs Bank raised their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $120.00. Dbs Bank currently has a buy rating on the stock. Albemarle traded as high as $105.77 and last traded at $106.71. Approximately 2,559,318 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 3,562,078 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.36.

Several other research analysts have also commented on ALB. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up from $95.00) on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $78.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Baird R W cut Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Albemarle from $74.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $95.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 36.8% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 2.1% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 2.8% in the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 1.6% during the second quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,482 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.7% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 22,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,496,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $85.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.55 billion, a PE ratio of -11.43 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released 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. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%.The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.04 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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