Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Stake Increased by SYM FINANCIAL Corp

SYM FINANCIAL Corp lifted its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 30.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,583 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ALB. Kingfisher Capital LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC now owns 14,117 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,401,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 688 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 1,541 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USCF Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 100.0% in the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on ALB shares. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Vertical Research lowered Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 8th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Albemarle from $137.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.85.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB traded up $2.80 on Friday, hitting $128.10. 2,600,059 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,691,240. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $123.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.58, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 2.84. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $106.69 and a one year high of $247.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The company’s revenue was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.32 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.18%.

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.