Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 12.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,595 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at about $93,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 1,153.5% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 52,135 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,755,000 after purchasing an additional 47,976 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 14.9% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 84,162 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,061,000 after buying an additional 10,892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,966 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 1,414 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $60.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a PE ratio of -5.41 and a beta of 1.61. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $113.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $58.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.68.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $0.44. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ALB. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $86.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.62.

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.