Whitener Capital Management Inc. Has $211,000 Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Whitener Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 766 shares during the period. Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Community Trust NA acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 610.0% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 61.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2,142.1% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 426 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 3.7 %

ALB opened at $98.24 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $92.35 and a 200 day moving average of $100.94. The company has a market cap of $11.55 billion, a PE ratio of -20.77 and a beta of 1.55. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $71.97 and a 12 month high of $153.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.49). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.38% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.33 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 39.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -34.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ALB. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $188.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $128.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.30.

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.