Albemarle's (ALB) Neutral Rating Reiterated at Robert W. Baird

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating on Albemarle with a $210 price target, implying about a 2.5% downside from the current price.
• Analyst consensus is mixed: MarketBeat shows an average "Hold" rating and a $172.60 average target, while individual coverage includes 1 Strong Buy, 13 Buys, 12 Holds and 2 Sells.
• Recent performance and activity: Albemarle missed EPS (‑$0.53 vs. ‑$0.40 est.) but beat revenue estimates, shares are trading near a 52‑week high (~$215), and CEO J. Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Robert W. Baird in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $210.00 target price on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Robert W. Baird's price objective indicates a potential downside of 2.52% from the company's current price.

ALB has been the topic of several other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Truist Financial set a $210.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Albemarle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Berenberg Bank set a $153.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised Albemarle from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $167.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $172.60.

Albemarle Trading Up 16.2%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $215.42 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $173.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.43. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $50.85 and a fifty-two week high of $215.71.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.09) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $2,012,654.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,995,808.68. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 121.5% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company's bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world's foremost chemical producers.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.