CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC Takes Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 7,858 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $744,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 3.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. grew its position in Albemarle by 4.1% in the second quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its position in Albemarle by 0.3% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 42,529 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,031,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 61.9% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on ALB shares. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.47.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $108.38 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $97.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.44. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $153.54. The company has a market capitalization of $12.74 billion, a PE ratio of -6.47 and a beta of 1.55.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -9.67%.

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.