Blume Capital Management Inc. Acquires 6,693 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Blume Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 1,504.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,138 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 6,693 shares during the period. Blume Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 21,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Berenberg Bank upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Albemarle from $191.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Albemarle in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.05.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE:ALB traded up $1.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $132.12. 546,471 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,162,365. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $123.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.93. The company has a market cap of $15.53 billion, a PE ratio of 47.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.65. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $106.69 and a 12-month high of $247.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $10.32 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 2.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 58.18%.

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.