Wedbush Securities Inc. Raises Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,380 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 1,400.0% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Albemarle by 340.6% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in Albemarle by 606.5% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. First Community Trust NA raised its position in Albemarle by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $58.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $76.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.95. The company has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.18 and a beta of 1.59. Albemarle Co. has a 1 year low of $55.50 and a 1 year high of $137.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ALB. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $86.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.20.

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.