Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Stake Increased by Opes Wealth Management LLC

Opes Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,826 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Opes Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 15,196 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,196,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 6,292 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $909,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 13,881 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,006,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth $126,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 311,437 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,996,000 after purchasing an additional 15,409 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock traded down $2.62 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $111.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,207,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,324,419. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $123.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $129.82. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $106.69 and a 12 month high of $247.44. The company has a market capitalization of $13.14 billion, a PE ratio of 8.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.62.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.86. Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.62 earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently 11.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on ALB shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $137.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $191.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.05.

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.