Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Stock Position Reduced by Delta Financial Advisors LLC

Delta Financial Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 30.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,511 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,973 shares during the period. Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Fairfield Bush & CO. lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 5,565 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,231,000 after buying an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 186.4% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,898 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 8,785 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,943,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 3,859 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Albemarle stock traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $113.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 906,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,306,483. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.57, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $106.69 and a 1-year high of $247.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 26.62% and a net margin of 16.36%. Albemarle’s revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is 11.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ALB shares. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Albemarle from $191.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Citigroup increased their price target on Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.05.

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.