Robert W. Baird Cuts Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target to $102.00

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective lowered by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $127.00 to $102.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price points to a potential upside of 19.56% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on ALB. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a report on Wednesday. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $159.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $135.00 target price (down from $150.00) on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.85.

Albemarle Trading Down 8.4 %

ALB stock traded down $7.86 on Friday, hitting $85.31. 2,551,173 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,049,991. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is $102.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.79. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $82.25 and a twelve month high of $214.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.49). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.29% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $626,882.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Albemarle news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter valued at $25,000. First Community Trust NA bought a new position in Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 610.0% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. USCF Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 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.