Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $436,000 Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,601 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Albemarle during the first quarter worth $25,000. First Community Trust NA acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the second quarter valued at $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 610.0% in the second 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. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Scotiabank cut their price target 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. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. 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 research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.60.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $102.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $88.03 and a 200-day moving average of $104.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.99 billion, a PE ratio of -21.57, a PEG ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $71.97 and a 12 month high of $177.52.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.49). The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a positive return on equity of 6.38%. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -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.