KeyCorp Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target decreased by analysts at KeyCorp from $127.00 to $122.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. KeyCorp’s price target indicates a potential upside of 50.88% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on ALB. Evercore ISI cut Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.38.

Albemarle Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ALB traded up $1.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $80.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,072,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,432,592. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $89.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.39. The stock has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a PE ratio of -4.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.59. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $71.97 and a 1-year high of $143.19.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 1.67% and a negative net margin of 28.80%. Research analysts forecast that Albemarle will post -1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALB. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new position in Albemarle in the third quarter worth about $692,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 32.3% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,817 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.4% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 10,682 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at approximately $799,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.