Cetera Trust Company N.A Sells 750 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Cetera Trust Company N.A lowered its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 25.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,210 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 750 shares during the period. Cetera Trust Company N.A’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at $25,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at $32,000. First Community Trust NA bought a new stake in Albemarle in the second quarter valued at $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 610.0% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $93.89. 581,570 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,011,148. Albemarle Co. has a 1 year low of $71.97 and a 1 year high of $153.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $89.94 and a 200 day moving average of $102.53.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a positive return on equity of 6.38%. The company’s revenue was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ALB. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $188.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. HSBC cut shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Albemarle from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.