Ethic Inc. Cuts Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Ethic Inc. trimmed its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,176 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 12,604 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 2.8% in the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,482 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $594,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 22,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,496,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 22,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norway Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 7,163 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $581,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of ALB stock opened at $141.43 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $152.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.65 billion, a PE ratio of -88.95 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.27. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $122.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.30.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.73. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.10% and a negative net margin of 0.43%.The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.55) earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -101.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Albemarle from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Albemarle from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Rothschild Redb upgraded Albemarle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.21.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company’s bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world’s foremost chemical producers.