Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Upgraded to “Buy” at Vertical Research

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Vertical Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $224.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Vertical Research’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 30.40% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Berenberg Bank set a $153.00 price objective on Albemarle in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Evercore boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.25.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $171.78 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $182.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $161.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -50.38, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $53.70 and a 52 week high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post 12.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter worth $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter worth $411,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 536.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

About Albemarle

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.