Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Buys 568,563 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 9,108.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 574,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 568,563 shares during the quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC owned 0.49% of Albemarle worth $54,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 176.6% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at about $49,007,000. PGGM Investments grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 261.6% during the first quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 413,492 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,473,000 after purchasing an additional 299,148 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 115.7% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 542,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $51,791,000 after purchasing an additional 290,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 22.9% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,423,897 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $187,584,000 after purchasing an additional 265,313 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB stock traded down $1.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $93.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,046,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,002,324. 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 12 month low of $71.97 and a 12 month high of $153.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $91.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 1.54.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued 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 company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.33 EPS. Albemarle’s revenue was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 0.46 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ALB shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $160.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Albemarle from $85.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, HSBC lowered Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.