Albemarle Corporation $ALB Stock Purchased by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC increased its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 73.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 423,863 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 179,138 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $48,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the second quarter valued at approximately $358,101,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $131,049,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $103,268,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2,981.1% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 733,793 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $77,621,000 after buying an additional 709,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $78,121,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE ALB opened at $94.39 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $117.26 and a 200-day moving average of $143.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 349.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.36. Albemarle Corporation has a 52 week low of $88.01 and a 52 week high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.09.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.55. Albemarle had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on ALB shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price target on Albemarle from $188.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup cut their price objective on Albemarle from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Argus lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $230.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.00.

Albemarle Profile

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) is a global specialty chemicals company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company develops, manufactures, and markets engineered chemicals used in energy storage, transportation, refining, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, consumer products, and other industrial applications.

Albemarle is one of the world’s major producers of lithium and supplies lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, for use in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid energy-storage systems.