Albemarle Corporation $ALB Stock: Ethic Inc. Grows Holdings

Ethic Inc. increased its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 233.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,694 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 50,167 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $7,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 1st quarter worth about $54,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Albemarle by 3,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ALB shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Mizuho upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $150.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Argus decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $230.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.05.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $98.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.68 billion, a PE ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.34. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $89.77 and a 1 year high of $221.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $106.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.47.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.05. Albemarle had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.19) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, December 18th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 18th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 39.61%.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation is a specialty chemicals company that produces lithium, bromine and refining catalysts. Its products serve industries including energy storage, transportation, electronics, petroleum refining and pharmaceuticals.

The company supplies lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries and other applications. It also makes bromine-based products for uses such as flame retardants and water treatment, along with catalysts used in refining petroleum.

Albemarle traces its history to 1887 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.