Clarkson Capital Initiates Coverage on Albemarle (NYSE:ALB)

Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Clarkson Capital’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 22.71% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on ALB. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Mizuho dropped their price target 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, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.65.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $91.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.73 billion, a PE ratio of -5.45 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $98.55 and a 200-day moving average of $93.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.58. Albemarle has a one year low of $71.97 and a one year high of $143.19.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 282,194 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 28.7% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 392.6% in the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 7,916 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $756,000 after acquiring an additional 6,309 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 127,549 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 423,049 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,067,000 after buying an additional 93,718 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by 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.