Cadence Wealth Management LLC Takes $306,000 Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Cadence Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,879 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Albemarle by 10,050.0% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 7,257.1% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 74.5% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 248.0% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 689 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $116.39 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a 52 week low of $49.43 and a 52 week high of $127.07. The firm has a market cap of $13.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.49 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $94.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.73.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $0.73. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.55) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -101.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on Albemarle from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Albemarle from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Dbs Bank lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.04.

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.