Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Cuts Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd cut its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,232 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 420 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Community Trust NA acquired a new position in Albemarle in the second quarter valued at $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 610.0% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 45.0% in the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 61.9% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ALB. Baird R W cut shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.58.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB stock opened at $100.83 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $71.97 and a 1 year high of $153.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $93.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.48. The firm has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.32 and a beta of 1.55.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a positive return on equity of 6.38%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -34.25%.

About Albemarle

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.