Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Purchases 4,079 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 45.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,114 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,079 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC grew its position 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 21,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB stock opened at $125.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.73 billion, a PE ratio of 9.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $122.97 and a 200-day moving average of $126.82. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $106.69 and a 12-month high of $247.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $10.32 earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently 11.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen lowered Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $220.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Albemarle from $191.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.85.

About Albemarle

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.