Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Raises Stock Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 6.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 146,459 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,528 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.12% of Albemarle worth $13,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Albemarle by 2,942.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $88.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $71.97 and a 1-year high of $177.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $86.77 and a 200-day moving average of $106.39. The company has a market capitalization of $10.43 billion, a PE ratio of 32.26, a P/E/G ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 1.54.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.49). The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.38% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is an increase from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently 58.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ALB. Berenberg Bank cut Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $160.00 to $83.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. HSBC downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird downgraded Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $85.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Baird R W cut Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Two equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.10.

Albemarle 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.