Bristlecone Advisors LLC Sells 26,817 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Bristlecone Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 67.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,897 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 26,817 shares during the quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $808,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position 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 during the period. National Pension Service raised its position in Albemarle by 74.5% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Albemarle in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new position in Albemarle in the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 84.1% in the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 670 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $89.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.13.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of ALB stock opened at $97.63 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.48 and a beta of 1.65. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $49.43 and a one year high of $113.91. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $86.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.94. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. The company’s revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.04 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -17.38%.

Albemarle 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.