Jefferies Financial Group Raises Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target to $105.00

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group raised its price target for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) from $90.00 to $105.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.73% from the current stock price.
• Albemarle's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $0.11 earnings per share against an estimated loss of ($0.83), with revenue of $1.33 billion.
• Institutional investors show strong interest in Albemarle, with ProShare Advisors increasing its holdings by 48.5% and AQR Capital Management raising its position by an impressive 22,047.4%.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $90.00 to $105.00 in a report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 17.73% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Albemarle from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Albemarle from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Albemarle from $78.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $87.68.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of ALB stock opened at $89.18 on Monday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $79.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.70. 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 1 year low of $49.43 and a 1 year high of $113.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.55 and a beta of 1.65.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations 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 quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.04 earnings per share. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 48.5% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,870,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $179,870,000 after purchasing an additional 937,538 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 22,047.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 713,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $44,613,000 after acquiring an additional 710,589 shares during the period. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,903,000. PGGM Investments raised its holdings in Albemarle by 90.4% during the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,069,924 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $67,052,000 after buying an additional 507,975 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,482,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.