Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Upgraded to Outperform at Mizuho

Key Points

• Mizuho upgraded Albemarle to “outperform” from “neutral” and set a $130 price target, implying 32.95% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with 16 Buy, eight Hold and two Sell ratings; the consensus is “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $181.96.
• Albemarle’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, reporting $3.75 in EPS versus a $3.20 estimate and $1.74 billion in revenue, up 31.1% year over year.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Mizuho from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $130.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Mizuho's price target indicates a potential upside of 32.95% from the stock's previous close.

ALB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price target on Albemarle from $188.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Barclays assumed coverage on Albemarle in a research report on Monday. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $109.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on Albemarle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Albemarle from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.96.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE ALB opened at $97.78 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $121.02 and its 200 day moving average is $147.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Albemarle has a 12 month low of $88.01 and a 12 month high of $221.00. The stock has a market cap of $11.54 billion, a PE ratio of 362.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.36.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.55. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Albemarle will post 11.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the second quarter worth $41,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the second quarter worth $42,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the second quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation NYSE: ALB is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and markets materials used in energy storage, transportation, consumer products and industrial applications. The company is best known for its lithium business, which supplies lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics and energy-storage systems.

Albemarle also produces bromine-based specialty chemicals used in areas such as fire safety, water treatment, pharmaceutical manufacturing and other industrial processes.