Kovack Advisors Inc. Has $1.21 Million Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 458.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,378 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 6,878 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 21,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:ALB traded up $1.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $116.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,723,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,343,544. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $106.69 and a one year high of $247.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $13.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $122.79 and its 200-day moving average is $128.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.86. Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently 11.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $137.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.