Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Sold by Realta Investment Advisors

Realta Investment Advisors lowered its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 38.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 19,747 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 12,597 shares during the quarter. Albemarle makes up approximately 0.9% of Realta Investment Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Realta Investment Advisors’ holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ALB. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 239.7% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 53,793 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,138,000 after buying an additional 37,958 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 190,526 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,100,000 after purchasing an additional 35,003 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 6,309 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 32.4% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB stock traded up $3.51 on Friday, reaching $98.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,431,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,977,436. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $92.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The company has a market capitalization of $11.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.77 and a beta of 1.54. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $71.97 and a 52 week high of $153.54.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.49). The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a positive return on equity of 6.38%. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 39.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -34.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $128.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. HSBC lowered Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.30.

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.