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

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Mizuho from $110.00 to $105.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 20.27% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on ALB. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.84.

Albemarle Trading Down 3.0 %

ALB stock opened at $87.30 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.44 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. The firm has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.21 and a beta of 1.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of Albemarle 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 38.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $96,660,000 after buying an additional 282,194 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 28.7% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $66,839,000 after buying an additional 157,319 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 392.6% in the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 7,916 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 6,309 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 32.4% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 521,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,395,000 after buying an additional 127,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 28.5% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 423,049 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,067,000 after buying an additional 93,718 shares in the last quarter. 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.