Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Purchased by Regatta Capital Group LLC

Regatta Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 156.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,347 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 4,485 shares during the period. Regatta Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Albemarle by 0.5% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 20,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,720,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 45.0% in the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 4.6% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,655 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 4.1% in the second quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Albemarle by 3.3% during the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,309 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $568,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of ALB stock opened at $95.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.81, 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 $172.09. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $88.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.40.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.38% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. The firm’s revenue was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.33 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on ALB shares. Berenberg Bank downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Baird R W cut shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. 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. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently 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.