Leibman Financial Services Inc. Trims Stake in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Leibman Financial Services Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,364 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 16,507 shares during the period. Albemarle comprises approximately 2.0% of Leibman Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Leibman Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,954,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $184,782,000 after acquiring an additional 59,104 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 48.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,870,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $179,870,000 after purchasing an additional 937,538 shares during the last quarter. PGGM Investments boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 90.4% during the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,069,924 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $67,052,000 after purchasing an additional 507,975 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 55.4% during the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 959,978 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $60,162,000 after purchasing an additional 342,321 shares during the period. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 11.4% in the second quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 866,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,308,000 after purchasing an additional 88,457 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Down 3.6%

ALB opened at $144.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $17.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -90.93 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $49.43 and a 12 month high of $152.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $119.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.05.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.73. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.10% and a negative net margin of 0.43%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.55) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -101.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Albemarle from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.21.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company’s bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world’s foremost chemical producers.