MFA Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 71.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,834 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in Albemarle during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. First Community Trust NA acquired a new position in Albemarle in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 610.0% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on ALB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Baird R W lowered Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. HSBC downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.60.

Albemarle Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $93.96 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.34. The stock has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.07, a P/E/G ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 1.54. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $71.97 and a 1-year high of $153.54.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.33 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 39.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.