Eagle Strategies LLC Decreases Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Eagle Strategies LLC decreased its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,776 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 606 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $926,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 239.7% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 53,793 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,138,000 after acquiring an additional 37,958 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 190,526 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,100,000 after acquiring an additional 35,003 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $756,000 after buying an additional 6,309 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 521,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,395,000 after buying an additional 127,549 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Albemarle in the 1st quarter worth approximately $202,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ALB. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $83.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $151.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.30.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $96.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.36 billion, a PE ratio of -20.43, a PEG ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 1.54. The company’s fifty day moving average is $91.90 and its 200 day moving average is $101.18. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $71.97 and a 52 week high of $153.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.38% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.33 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -34.25%.

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.