Oppenheimer Lowers Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target to $170.00

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at Oppenheimer from $171.00 to $170.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price target points to a potential upside of 72.69% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on ALB. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.58.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Albemarle stock traded down $1.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $98.44. 504,410 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,959,546. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Albemarle has a one year low of $71.97 and a one year high of $153.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $93.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.56. The company has a market cap of $11.57 billion, a PE ratio of -20.79 and a beta of 1.55.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.55) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.31) by ($1.24). The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a positive return on equity of 6.38%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALB. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Albemarle in the third quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its position in Albemarle by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 11,706 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 2,958 shares in the last quarter. Prudent Man Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 48.1% in the 3rd quarter. Prudent Man Advisors LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620 shares during the period. River Street Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 3,390 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KPP Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,476 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. 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.