Royal Bank Of Canada Boosts Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target to $253.00

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on Albemarle to $253 from $245 and reiterated an outperform rating, implying about 24% upside from the prior close.
• Other analysts have also turned more positive, with several firms lifting targets and ratings; overall, Albemarle now has a Hold consensus and an average price target of $191.83.
• Albemarle recently posted a strong quarter, with EPS of $2.95 versus expectations of $1.24 and revenue of $1.43 billion, while shares opened at $203.72 and traded near their 12-month high.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $245.00 to $253.00 in a report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price suggests a potential upside of 24.19% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $236.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, HSBC upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $191.83.

Albemarle Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:ALB opened at $203.72 on Monday. Albemarle has a 12 month low of $53.70 and a 12 month high of $221.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm's 50 day moving average is $179.56 and its 200 day moving average is $154.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.02 billion, a PE ratio of -59.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.36.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle will post 8.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ALB. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $230,603,000 after acquiring an additional 207,770 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $138,723,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,475,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $119,710,000 after purchasing an additional 52,698 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $102,464,000 after purchasing an additional 22,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,241,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $175,542,000 after purchasing an additional 453,881 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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