Quantbot Technologies LP Buys 69,996 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 421.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,613 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 69,996 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP owned approximately 0.07% of Albemarle worth $7,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ALB. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 50.4% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Albemarle by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. First Community Trust NA lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,908 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 4,655 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB opened at $72.38 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $67.23 and a 1 year high of $137.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.61. The firm has a market cap of $8.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.46 and a beta of 1.70.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its 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 return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. As a group, analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.05.

Albemarle Company 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.