Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on ALB. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Albemarle from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Albemarle from $105.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, October 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Albemarle from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Albemarle from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.13.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $91.27 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $87.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.91. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $113.91. The company has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.79 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.31.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $0.73. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.55) earnings per share. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 10,050.0% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 7,257.1% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 74.5% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Albemarle during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.