Albemarle Corporation $ALB Stake Raised by Grandfield & Dodd LLC

Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 4.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 254,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 11,147 shares during the quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $15,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 10.7% during the first quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 50,326 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,624,000 after purchasing an additional 4,872 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 184,426 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $13,282,000 after acquiring an additional 6,487 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,850,000. Leibman Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. now owns 48,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,063,000 after buying an additional 6,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bristlecone Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 37.8% in the first quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 39,714 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after buying an additional 10,890 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Up 3.9%

NYSE:ALB opened at $114.59 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $90.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.30 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Albemarle Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.43 and a 1-year high of $119.28.

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

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -101.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on ALB shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $105.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, October 27th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Albemarle from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Baird R W downgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Albemarle from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.38.

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.