Stablepoint Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Stablepoint Partners LLC lifted its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 51.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,370 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 1,492 shares during the period. Stablepoint Partners LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 94.5% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,301 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 38.9% during the second quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 47,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,566,000 after buying an additional 13,389 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 206.8% during the second quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,353 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 3,608 shares during the last quarter. Regal Partners Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 336.4% during the 2nd quarter. Regal Partners Ltd now owns 36,904 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,525,000 after acquiring an additional 28,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at $220,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Albemarle from $128.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird downgraded Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $137.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.10.

Albemarle Trading Down 2.5 %

ALB stock opened at $82.61 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $89.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.87. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $201.76. The firm has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 30.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.49). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.38% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.33 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 39.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.91%.

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.