Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Cut to $68.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target decreased by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $73.00 to $68.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential downside of 18.75% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.91.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE ALB traded up $2.48 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $83.69. The stock had a trading volume of 2,002,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,467,229. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $71.97 and a twelve month high of $143.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $88.52 and its 200 day moving average is $92.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.00, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.59.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 1.67% and a negative net margin of 28.80%. Equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle will post -1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $1,208,000. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $226,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 758,758 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $65,314,000 after buying an additional 58,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 293,385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,255,000 after buying an additional 81,870 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Albemarle

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.