Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Lowered to “Inline” Rating by Evercore ISI

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) was downgraded by Evercore ISI from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial started coverage on Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “hold” rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.95.

Albemarle Trading Up 2.5 %

Albemarle stock opened at $82.48 on Wednesday. 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 12 month low of $71.97 and a 12 month high of $143.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $93.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.11. The firm has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a PE ratio of -4.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $3,816,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,882 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $768,000 after purchasing an additional 4,247 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at about $491,000. Finally, Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at about $121,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.