Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Acquired by Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kingfisher Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC now owns 14,117 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,401,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 5.8% during the third quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 1,541 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. USCF Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Innovis Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Innovis Asset Management LLC now owns 15,540 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,642,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $130.40 on Thursday. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $106.69 and a 52-week high of $247.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $123.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.33 billion, a PE ratio of 47.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.65.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $10.32 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 2.86 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently 58.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen cut Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $220.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.05.

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.