Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Key Points

• UBS Group has raised its price target for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) from $57.00 to $62.00, despite maintaining a "sell" rating, indicating a potential downside of 10.37% from current prices.
• The stock has received mixed ratings from analysts, with six having a "sell" rating, ten a "hold," and four a "buy," while the consensus price target is $91.25.
• Albemarle recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.11, exceeding estimates while experiencing a 7.0% year-over-year decline in revenue.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $57.00 to $62.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "sell" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. UBS Group's price objective points to a potential downside of 8.74% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Albemarle to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Baird R W lowered Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $91.68.

Albemarle Trading Up 0.1%

ALB traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $67.94. 4,276,673 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,361,864. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $66.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.29 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $49.43 and a 52 week high of $113.91.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.94. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.04 EPS. The business's revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALB. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 29,685 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,555,000 after buying an additional 973 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth $39,405,000. Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth $305,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth $218,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 169,206 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $14,565,000 after buying an additional 9,953 shares during 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.