Swedbank AB Sells 24,698 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Swedbank AB trimmed its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 31.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 52,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 24,698 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $4,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norway Savings Bank increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 23.0% during the third quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,817 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new position in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth about $76,000. TAP Consulting LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 182.8% in the 3rd quarter. TAP Consulting LLC now owns 55,588 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,265,000 after purchasing an additional 35,934 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at about $1,444,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $95.08 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.07. The stock has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.57, a PEG 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. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Albemarle from $128.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. HSBC cut Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.