Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Downgraded to “Underperform” Rating by Robert W. Baird

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) was downgraded by Robert W. Baird from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $60.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 11.62% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on ALB. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Mizuho set a $76.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Albemarle to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.25.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of ALB stock traded down $1.00 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $67.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,466,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,464,958. Albemarle has a one year low of $49.43 and a one year high of $113.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.11 and a beta of 1.63. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.94. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 22.39% and a negative return on equity of 1.92%. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.04 earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new position in Albemarle in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 7,257.1% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its position in Albemarle by 74.5% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other 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.