Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target Cut to $105.00 by Analysts at Mizuho

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Mizuho from $110.00 to $105.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 15.61% from the company’s previous close.

ALB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.84.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $90.82. The company had a trading volume of 382,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,787,422. The stock has a market cap of $10.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.42 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Albemarle has a 1 year low of $71.97 and a 1 year high of $143.19. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.15.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in Albemarle by 0.5% during the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,833,984 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $363,117,000 after buying an additional 20,930 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,741,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $258,797,000 after purchasing an additional 14,874 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,568,602 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $149,833,000 after purchasing an additional 144,705 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Albemarle by 2.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,311,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $125,264,000 after purchasing an additional 29,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 11.9% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,198,730 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $114,503,000 after buying an additional 127,615 shares during the period. 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.