AM Squared Ltd Cuts Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

AM Squared Ltd reduced its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 46.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. Albemarle comprises about 0.4% of AM Squared Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. AM Squared Ltd’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Albemarle by 51.2% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 130 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter worth about $25,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 164 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle in the first quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, City State Bank grew its stake in Albemarle by 60.0% in the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on ALB shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Albemarle from $115.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Vertical Research downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $137.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.05.

Albemarle Stock Down 5.3 %

NYSE:ALB traded down $6.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $114.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,493,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,620,011. The company has a market cap of $13.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.62. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $106.69 and a one year high of $247.44. The business’s 50-day moving average is $123.19 and its 200-day moving average is $130.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.99%.

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.