Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Cut to Sell at UBS Group

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at UBS Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $57.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company's stock. UBS Group's price target would indicate a potential downside of 19.80% from the company's current price.

ALB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Albemarle to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Albemarle from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler set a $68.00 target price on Albemarle and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Albemarle from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.29.

Albemarle Trading Down 4.3%

ALB traded down $3.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $71.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,090,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,881,012. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $8.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.39 and a beta of 1.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $61.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.62. Albemarle has a 52-week low of $49.43 and a 52-week high of $113.91.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by $0.44. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.18 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.92% and a negative net margin of 22.39%. The firm's revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 340.6% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 74.5% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.