NEOS Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 28.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,612 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 24.6% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,509 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,174,000 after purchasing an additional 6,607 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 26.8% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 99,375 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,413,000 after buying an additional 20,988 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 67.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 658,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $62,333,000 after buying an additional 264,756 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 59.1% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth about $200,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of ALB opened at $72.21 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.95. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.23 and a fifty-two week high of $137.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.88. The firm has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.45 and a beta of 1.70.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.30.

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.