Whitener Capital Management Inc. Sells 766 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Whitener Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 25.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 766 shares during the period. Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 239.7% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 53,793 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,138,000 after buying an additional 37,958 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Albemarle by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 190,526 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,100,000 after purchasing an additional 35,003 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 392.6% during the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 7,916 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 6,309 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 521,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,395,000 after purchasing an additional 127,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth about $202,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 3.7 %

Albemarle stock opened at $98.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.77 and a beta of 1.55. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $71.97 and a twelve month high of $153.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $92.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.94.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced 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). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.38% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -34.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on ALB. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $137.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.30.

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.