Amalgamated Bank Increases Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 57.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,137 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 13,873 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Albemarle by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,083,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,034,787,000 after acquiring an additional 82,874 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 128.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,076,357 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,022,420,000 after purchasing an additional 3,979,885 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,800,219 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $838,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396,624 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,813,054 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $364,223,000 after buying an additional 87,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in Albemarle by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,472,155 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $325,682,000 after buying an additional 116,284 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Down 3.7 %

NYSE ALB opened at $86.03 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 31.28, a P/E/G ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 1.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $86.91 and its 200 day moving average is $106.63. Albemarle Co. has a twelve month low of $71.97 and a twelve month high of $177.52. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.49). The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a positive return on equity of 6.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 39.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.33 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is an increase from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Albemarle from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Hsbc Global Res raised Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Albemarle from $137.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.10.

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.