MONECO Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

MONECO Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,130 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ALB. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 21,400.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $119.00 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.62. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $106.69 and a 12-month high of $247.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.27). Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $10.32 earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $191.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Bank of America upgraded Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Albemarle in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.