Knuff & Co LLC Grows Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Knuff & Co LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,849 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the quarter. Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 1,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 340.6% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in Albemarle by 606.5% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. First Community Trust NA boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on ALB shares. Truist Financial cut their price target on Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.05.

Albemarle Stock Down 4.8 %

Albemarle stock opened at $72.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.49 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $83.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.74. Albemarle Co. has a twelve month low of $67.23 and a twelve month high of $137.50.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.46%.

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.