Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Raised to $75.00 at HSBC

Key Points

• HSBC upgraded Albemarle's target price from $60.00 to $75.00, maintaining a "hold" rating, indicating a potential downside of 6.76% from the current stock price.
• Other analysts have varying views on Albemarle, with price targets ranging from $62.00 to $89.00, highlighting a mix of ratings including three "buy," eleven "hold," and four "sell" ratings.
• Albemarle recently reported $0.11 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, yet noted a negative net margin of 18.61% year-over-year.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by investment analysts at HSBC from $60.00 to $75.00 in a research report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a "hold" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. HSBC's price objective would suggest a potential downside of 6.77% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group upgraded Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Mizuho set a $76.00 price objective on Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $85.83.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of ALB stock traded down $1.39 on Monday, hitting $80.45. The stock had a trading volume of 2,536,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,681,647. The business has a 50 day moving average of $77.95 and a 200 day moving average of $68.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.47. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $49.43 and a 12-month high of $113.91. The stock has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.63 and a beta of 1.64.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 1.1% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 73,027 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $4,582,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 9.1% in the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 7,142 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 37.3% in the second quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 43,933 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,753,000 after purchasing an additional 11,939 shares during the last quarter. 1248 Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 6.8% in the second quarter. 1248 Management LLC now owns 12,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Albemarle by 52.0% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 24,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,519,000 after acquiring an additional 8,287 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Albemarle

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.