Albemarle Corporation [ALB] gets an upgrade to an In-Line from Evercore ISI Group

Evercore ISI Group took its Albemarle [ALB] rating to the equivalent of In-Line from Underperform, ‎and the price target to 160.0, in a research note dated 2021-01-05. That figure represents around a ‎‎4.81% premium from where the company’s shares closed on Monday. Other analysts also revised their ‎coverage, with HSBC Securities’s analysts upgrading the shares from “a Hold” rating to “a Buy” rating in ‎a research note to investors issued in late October. Meanwhile, RBC Capital Mkts had lowered its ‎rating on ALB to “an Underperform” from the earlier “Sector perform”, in a research note produced ‎for clients October 14, 2020. In addition, there was an upgrade from Vertical Research on September ‎‎29, 2020. The rater changed ALB from “a Hold” to “a Buy”.

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Is Albemarle Corporation [NYSE:ALB] a Good Buy Right ‎Now?

It should be noted that ALB technical indicators for short, intermediate as well as long term ‎progress have placed an overall average of 100% as Buy. The average signal changed from 100% Buy in ‎the last week and compares with 100% Buy in the past month. Data from Albemarle Corporation’s ‎Trend Spotter indicated that the signals were Strengthening. The stock current average is 1.28 million ‎shares in the past 20 days and the short term average signal indicates a 100% Buy. In the last 50 days, ‎the average trading volume was 1.29 million shares while the medium term average advocated for ‎‎100% Buy. The average long-term signal stands at 100% Buy and the 100-day average volume stands at ‎‎1.18 million shares.

ALB Price Performance

On Wall Street, Albemarle Corporation ‎‎[NYSE:ALB] finished Monday’s session up 3.46% at $152.63. The stock went up to $156.76 at the same ‎session while its lowest single day price was $150.295. In the last five days, it saw a rise of about 2.00%, ‎Albemarle Corporation shares gained by almost 3.46% since the beginning of the year. However, the ‎share price has dropped to as low as -0.55% below its one year high. On 01/04/21, the company shares ‎recorded $156.76, the highest single-day price it has got to in the last 52-weeks and a 52-week low was ‎seen on 01/04/21, the same year at $150.29. The company’s shares have inclined by 113.26% in the ‎past year. The 50-day SMA achieved is $126.84 while the 200-day SMA is $90.75. Volume gained to 2.9 ‎million from 0.78 million in the previous session.

Albemarle Corporation [ALB] Valuation ‎Measures

Notably, Albemarle Corporation [ALB] stock cannot be classified as a good candidate in ‎the listing of underestimated low-priced Specialty Chemicals companies to purchase soonest possible ‎with the prevailing 12-month PE ratio of 42.63. The measure means the stock is exchanging at a ‎premium as compared to the 23.22x trailing earnings of the industry. It can be helpful for investors to ‎consider historical price-sales ratio, more specifically, a 5.07 PS value ratio is reported for the last one ‎year of reported earnings. That is higher than the industry average of 1.38 which means ALB serve an ‎unattractive investment opportunity compared to its competitors.

ALB Stock Support And ‎Resistance Levels

On the 24-hour scale, the immediate backing is perceived around 149.70 level, ‎and in case of violation of this particular level, it will cause more drop to 146.76 level. On the upper ‎level, 159.69 is still the key resistance. The stock may increase to the subsequent resistance at 156.16. ‎The Relative Strength Index (RSI) pinned on the 14-day chart is 68.79, implying a neutral technical ‎stance while the MACD stands at 5.68, meaning price will increase in the next trading period. Percent R ‎indicator moved to 18.27%, implying bullish price movement. Stochastic %K at 73.36% suggest selling ‎the stock.

What is the short interest in Albemarle Corporation?

Short interest in the ‎Albemarle Corporation stock has surged, increasing by 2.75 million shares to total 4.42 million shares on ‎Dec 14, 2020. The interest had seen shares on Nov 12, 2020 stand at 7.17 million, data from Yahoo ‎Finance shows. The decrease of -62.22% suggests the stock saw some decreased bullish sentiment. ‎The stock’s days to cover (short ratio) moved to while the shorted shares account for just 4.75% of the ‎overall float for the stock.

Albemarle Corporation’s Biggest Shareholders: Who Owns Albemarle ‎Corporation [ALB]?

Filings by The Vanguard Group, Inc. showed that the firm now holds a total of ‎‎11,774,910 shares or roughly 11.06% of the outstanding ALB shares. This means their shares have ‎reduced by -378,350 from the 11,774,910 the investor reportedly held in its prior 13-F filing. With the ‎conclusion of the sale, SSgA Funds Management, Inc. updated stake is worth $881,313,894. Details in ‎the latest 13F filings reveal that Franklin Advisers, Inc. disposed off their -4.87% stake valued at ‎‎$771,802,704 while BlackRock Fund Advisors added theirs at $727,974,814. During the last quarter, ‎Franklin Advisers, Inc. liquidated -290,349 of its shares in Albemarle Corporation while BlackRock Fund ‎Advisors bought 13,375 shares. The PRIMECAP Management Co.’s holdings currently number 5,155,880 ‎shares at $786941964.4. According to the firm’s last 13F report, Baillie Gifford & Co. shares in the ‎company at filing stood at 4,333,303 shares, roughly $589,199,209.

ALB Earnings Forecast For The ‎Current Quarter

Albemarle Corporation [ALB] is expected to report weak earnings results for the ‎quarter ending on Dec 2020. Consensus estimates give the company expected revenues of $838.86M ‎and an earnings per share of $1.06 for Dec 2020. Looking further ahead, the company is expected to ‎report revenue of $758.39M at an EPS of $0.91 for Mar 2021. The estimates represent downside of ‎‎3.30% and 2.72% in the company’s revenue and earnings per share, respectively, on a year-on-year ‎basis.

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ALB Earnings Estimates For The Current ‎Year

For the financial year, Albemarle Corporation [NYSE:ALB] is expected to bring in revenue of ‎‎$3.07B. The returns are nearly $-520.0 million lower than the company’s actual revenue recorded in the ‎fiscal year 2019. In terms of EPS for the 2020, estimate put it at 3.97, lower than that of FY19 by -$2.07. ‎Estimates put this year’s earnings growth at -34.30%, 2.80% for the next, and at an annual 15.00% over ‎the next 5-year period. As for sales, forecasts are for a decrease of -14.40% in the current fiscal year ‎and a further 3.30% over the following year.‎

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