Orion Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Orion Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 5,714.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 407 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $59,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 21,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of ALB opened at $119.00 on Thursday. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $106.69 and a 52-week 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’s fifty day moving average is $122.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.82. The stock has a market cap of $13.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.65.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.27). Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $10.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on ALB. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 15th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $220.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $155.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $137.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.85.

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.