SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 18.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,078 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. USCF Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2,942.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Vertical Research lowered shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, March 8th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.78.

Albemarle Trading Up 3.2 %

NYSE:ALB opened at $100.12 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $116.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $92.29 and a 12-month high of $247.44. The firm has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a PE ratio of 36.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.57.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $10.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently 58.18%.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total value of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.