Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Takes Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 2,511 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $363,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ALB. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 4,059 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 8,361 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,208,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,407 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,129,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 52,819 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,631,000 after buying an additional 1,323 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB stock opened at $111.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market cap of $13.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $123.12 and its 200 day moving average is $129.82. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $106.69 and a 52 week high of $247.44.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.40 dividend. 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 currently 11.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $137.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, TD Cowen cut Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $220.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.05.

About Albemarle

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.