UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at UBS Group from $86.00 to $64.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 10.14% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on ALB. Mizuho cut their target price on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.20.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock traded down $0.40 on Monday, hitting $58.11. The stock had a trading volume of 5,068,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,638,547. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $55.13 and a twelve month high of $137.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business’s 50 day moving average is $77.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.17. The stock has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.21 and a beta of 1.59.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. Analysts forecast that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth about $85,570,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $39,405,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Albemarle by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,594,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,256,294,000 after acquiring an additional 359,014 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Albemarle by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,192,527 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $102,653,000 after acquiring an additional 320,150 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 6,393.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 152,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,975,000 after purchasing an additional 150,047 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.