Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $206.00 and last traded at $198.5290, with a volume of 1455992 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $186.83.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ALB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Albemarle from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.04.

Albemarle Trading Up 6.6%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $163.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $23.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.13). The business 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 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.The business’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.09) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,954,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $184,782,000 after buying an additional 59,104 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 48.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,870,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $179,870,000 after buying an additional 937,538 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $230,603,000 after purchasing an additional 207,770 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at $138,723,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 3.7% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,475,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $119,710,000 after purchasing an additional 52,698 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.