Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Purchases 302 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,242 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 302 shares during the quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 2,942.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, First Community Trust NA purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter worth $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $94.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.67. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $177.52. The firm has a market cap of $11.13 billion, a PE ratio of 34.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.98 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $86.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.34.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.38% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. Albemarle’s revenue was down 39.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.33 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $188.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.10.

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.