Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price Target Lowered at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS cut Albemarle’s price target from $150 to $137 but maintained its Buy rating; the new target implies about 38% upside from the stock’s then-current price.
• Analyst views were mixed: MarketBeat reported a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average target of $174.05, while recent firms made both upgrades and downgrades.
• Albemarle shares fell 0.3% to $98.96 on Monday. Its latest quarterly results beat estimates for earnings and revenue, with revenue up 18.8% year over year.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by stock analysts at UBS Group from $150.00 to $137.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. UBS Group's price target indicates a potential upside of 38.44% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on ALB. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price (down from $185.00) on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Albemarle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research lowered Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Mizuho upgraded Albemarle from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Argus lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $230.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.05.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE ALB traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $98.96. 2,409,624 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,471,920. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.68 billion, a PE ratio of 23.90, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $107.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Albemarle has a 12 month low of $89.77 and a 12 month high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.19) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Albemarle will post 11.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its position in Albemarle by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 2,952 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.3% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 27,452 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $4,928,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 0.6% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,664 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,082,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Cadence Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $894,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in Albemarle by 7.0% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,584 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation is a specialty chemicals company that produces lithium, bromine and refining catalysts. Its products serve industries including energy storage, transportation, electronics, petroleum refining and pharmaceuticals.

The company supplies lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries and other applications. It also makes bromine-based products for uses such as flame retardants and water treatment, along with catalysts used in refining petroleum.

Albemarle traces its history to 1887 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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.