Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Stock Holdings Increased by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank boosted its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,942 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 1,547 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. First Community Trust NA bought a new stake in Albemarle in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB opened at $104.47 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.98 and a beta of 1.54. 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 price of $87.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.43 billion during 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%. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was down 39.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.33 EPS. Research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ALB shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on Albemarle from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. HSBC lowered 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.