Delta Financial Advisors LLC Sells 1,973 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Delta Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 30.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,511 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,973 shares during the quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 149.3% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 14,058 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,391,000 after purchasing an additional 8,420 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 5.4% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 283,876 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,270,000 after purchasing an additional 14,593 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 80.3% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,757 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,359,000 after purchasing an additional 8,799 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 8.9% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 412,821 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $70,179,000 after purchasing an additional 33,662 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 235.9% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 12,107 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 8,503 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB stock traded down $0.91 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $113.48. The company had a trading volume of 906,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,306,483. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $123.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.95. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $106.69 and a one year high of $247.44. The firm has a market cap of $13.34 billion, a PE ratio of 8.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.86. Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on ALB. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.05.

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.