Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company cut its target price for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) from $75.00 to $70.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating, which implies a potential upside of 5.33% from the current stock price.
• Albemarle's stock has received negative ratings from several analysts, with six rating it as a sell, while the overall consensus rating remains a "hold" with a target price of $91.42.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.11, exceeding estimates, but its revenue declined by 7.0% year-over-year, reflecting a challenging financial environment.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $75.00 to $70.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target suggests a potential upside of 5.33% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on ALB. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Albemarle to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Piper Sandler set a $68.00 target price on shares of Albemarle and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Baird R W cut shares of Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $91.42.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB traded down $1.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $66.46. 1,281,181 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,449,229. The company has a market cap of $7.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.13 and a beta of 1.63. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $65.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.11. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $113.91.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.88%. The company's revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.04 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 7,257.1% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its position in Albemarle by 74.5% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.

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