Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Stock Price

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Citigroup from $85.00 to $64.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 21.60% from the company’s previous close.

ALB has been the subject of several other reports. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Clarkson Capital began coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.05.

Albemarle Stock Down 2.6 %

NYSE:ALB opened at $52.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.77. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $137.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.70 and a beta of 1.59.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) 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 predict that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 71.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 6,234 shares in the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 28,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,481,000 after acquiring an additional 4,899 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 172.1% in the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,405 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 4,051 shares during the last quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Albemarle by 50.5% in the 4th quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. now owns 38,964 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,354,000 after acquiring an additional 13,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beech Hill Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,952,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.