Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Stock Position Reduced by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC decreased its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 27.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,345 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $85,570,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,405,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,594,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,256,294,000 after purchasing an additional 359,014 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,192,527 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $102,653,000 after purchasing an additional 320,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $11,694,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $52.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a PE ratio of -4.72 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $71.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.15. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $49.43 and a 12-month high of $137.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their target price on Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.05.

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.