Greenleaf Trust Grows Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,380 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $550,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth about $25,000. First Community Trust NA acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 610.0% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2,142.1% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 426 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $93.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $10.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 1.54. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $153.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $91.35 and a 200-day moving average of $101.96.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.49). The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter last year, the company posted $7.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ALB. Baird R W cut shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America cut their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $160.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.30.

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.