UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Raises Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,880 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 1,334 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,594,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,256,294,000 after acquiring an additional 359,014 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,741,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $258,797,000 after purchasing an additional 14,874 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,040,970 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,607,000 after buying an additional 20,380 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,570,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 741,484 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $63,827,000 after acquiring an additional 35,765 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $72.21 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $67.23 and a 12 month high of $137.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $79.84 and a 200 day moving average of $90.88. The firm has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a PE ratio of -6.45 and a beta of 1.70.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. On average, research analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -14.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ALB. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Clarkson Capital started coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.30.

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.