Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys 14,760 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 9.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 178,846 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 14,760 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.15% of Albemarle worth $17,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 2,942.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 100.8% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 253 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of ALB opened at $86.03 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.03 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $71.97 and a 52 week high of $177.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.63.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted 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 revenue for the quarter was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.33 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their target price 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. Baird R W lowered Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Albemarle from $188.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.10.

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.