Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Bought by CENTRAL TRUST Co

CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 4,516.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,552 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 3,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. NFSG Corp boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 470.0% in the third quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 342 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the second quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the second quarter worth about $42,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on ALB shares. Argus dropped their target price on Albemarle from $230.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on Albemarle from $109.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 6th. Mizuho upgraded Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.05.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.1%

ALB opened at $94.91 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $104.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.34. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $89.77 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.34.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.05. Albemarle had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.19) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 10.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, December 18th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 18th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently 39.61%.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation is a specialty chemicals company that produces lithium, bromine and refining catalysts. Its products serve industries including energy storage, transportation, electronics, petroleum refining and pharmaceuticals. The company supplies lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries and other applications. It also makes bromine-based products for uses such as flame retardants and water treatment, along with catalysts used in refining petroleum. Albemarle traces its history to 1887 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.