Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Stock Holdings Lifted by Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD.

Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. raised its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 50.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 220,834 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 74,322 shares during the quarter. Albemarle accounts for 1.3% of Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $19,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Quarry LP grew its stake in Albemarle by 1,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 340.6% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 606.5% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. First Community Trust NA raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $58.55 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $77.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.15. The company has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a PE ratio of -5.23 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $57.53 and a fifty-two week high of $137.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. Analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -14.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Clarkson Capital began coverage on Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI lowered Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.30.

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.