Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price raised by Royal Bank Of Canada from $117.00 to $120.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 17.08% from the company’s current price.

ALB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $74.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on Albemarle in a research report on Friday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Albemarle from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Albemarle from $105.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, October 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.52.

Albemarle Stock Up 5.5%

Shares of NYSE:ALB traded up $5.31 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $102.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,100,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,558,698. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $49.43 and a 1-year high of $113.91. The stock has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a PE ratio of -10.98 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $88.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.48.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 184,426 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,282,000 after buying an additional 6,487 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 20.2% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 142,425 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,257,000 after acquiring an additional 23,953 shares during the last quarter. Prudent Man Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 6.7% during the first quarter. Prudent Man Advisors LLC now owns 5,143 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at $9,430,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 51.1% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 908 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. 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.