Candriam S.C.A. Increases Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 34.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,840 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 4,540 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 29,129 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,759,000 after buying an additional 4,813 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 43,996 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,167,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 135,194 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,804,000 after buying an additional 4,131 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in Albemarle by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 5,216 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ALB. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.05.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:ALB opened at $75.57 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a PE ratio of -6.75 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $83.92 and a 200 day moving average of $91.94. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $67.23 and a 1-year high of $137.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -14.46%.

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.