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

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $68.00 to $58.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.37% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $86.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.43.

Albemarle Stock Down 2.4 %

ALB stock opened at $56.11 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $65.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.01 and a beta of 1.71. 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 current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $0.44. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Albemarle by 48.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA grew its position in Albemarle by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,908 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 4,655 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 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.