Bristlecone Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Bristlecone Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 67.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,897 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 26,817 shares during the quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $808,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 9.3% during the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 28,413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,046,000 after buying an additional 2,426 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 185.8% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 81,836 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,894,000 after buying an additional 53,203 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 14.6% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 35,109 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,529,000 after buying an additional 4,474 shares during the period. Revisor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter worth about $400,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter worth about $1,238,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $72.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $78.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.13.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $97.63 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $86.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.37. The company has a market cap of $11.49 billion, a PE ratio of -10.48 and a beta of 1.65. Albemarle Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.43 and a 52-week high of $113.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.31.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.94. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. The business’s revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.04 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -17.38%.

Albemarle 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.