Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Stake Lowered by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 52,582 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 922 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $7,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 149.3% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 14,058 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,391,000 after acquiring an additional 8,420 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 5.4% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 283,876 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,270,000 after purchasing an additional 14,593 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 80.3% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,757 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,359,000 after purchasing an additional 8,799 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 8.9% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 412,821 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $70,179,000 after purchasing an additional 33,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 235.9% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 12,107 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 8,503 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $113.55 on Thursday. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $106.69 and a 12-month high of $247.44. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $13.35 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $122.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.36.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 11.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ALB shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $140.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.05.

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.