Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Bought by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,863 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the third quarter worth about $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 21,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $137.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Albemarle from $138.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.05.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of ALB opened at $130.40 on Thursday. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $106.69 and a 1-year high of $247.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.93. The stock has a market cap of $15.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.65.

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

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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

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.