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

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at KeyCorp from $127.00 to $122.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. KeyCorp’s target price indicates a potential upside of 50.88% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.38.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB traded up $1.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $80.86. 1,072,772 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,432,592. The stock has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.83, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.56 and a 200 day moving average of $92.39. 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 52 week low of $71.97 and a 52 week high of $143.19.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 28.80% and a positive return on equity of 1.67%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle will post -1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total value of $255,328.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 38.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,660,000 after acquiring an additional 282,194 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 71.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 6,234 shares in the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 28,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,481,000 after acquiring an additional 4,899 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 28.7% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,839,000 after acquiring an additional 157,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 32.4% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 521,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,395,000 after acquiring an additional 127,549 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently 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.