Vest Financial LLC Boosts Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 521,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 127,549 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.44% of Albemarle worth $49,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 176.6% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,588,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $209,333,000 after acquiring an additional 3,662,117 shares during the period. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth about $49,007,000. PGGM Investments boosted its position in Albemarle by 261.6% in the first quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 413,492 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $54,473,000 after buying an additional 299,148 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 115.7% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 542,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $51,791,000 after buying an additional 290,862 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 22.9% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,423,897 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $187,584,000 after buying an additional 265,313 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB stock traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $95.14. The stock had a trading volume of 2,082,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,026,809. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $71.97 and a 52-week high of $153.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $89.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.90. The company has a market cap of $11.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 1.54.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.49). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.38% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.33 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 39.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Baird R W downgraded shares of Albemarle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Albemarle from $188.00 to $178.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Albemarle from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Two 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $117.60.

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.