Leibman Financial Services Inc. Has $2.45 Million Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Leibman Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 69.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,889 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,587 shares during the period. Albemarle comprises about 1.7% of Leibman Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Leibman Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 176.6% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,588,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $209,333,000 after purchasing an additional 3,662,117 shares during the period. TFG Asset Management GP Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 8,068.3% during the 4th quarter. TFG Asset Management GP Ltd now owns 400,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 395,103 shares during the period. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at $49,007,000. PGGM Investments increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 261.6% in the first quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 413,492 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,473,000 after acquiring an additional 299,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 115.7% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 542,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $51,791,000 after acquiring an additional 290,862 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Trading Down 4.0 %

Albemarle stock opened at $100.26 on Wednesday. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $71.97 and a 12 month high of $177.52. The stock has a market cap of $11.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.46, 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 $87.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 0.69 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC lowered Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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 downgraded shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $102.00 to $85.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $188.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.60.

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.