Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Position Boosted by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,845 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 4,031 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Community Trust NA acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 610.0% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 61.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 2,142.1% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 426 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $128.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.58.

Albemarle Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $100.83 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.48. The firm has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.32 and a beta of 1.55. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $153.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.55) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by ($1.24). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a positive return on equity of 6.38%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -34.25%.

Albemarle Company 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.