Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Makes New Investment in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 33,676 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $2,905,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Albemarle by 71.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 6,234 shares in the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 28,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,481,000 after purchasing an additional 4,899 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 172.1% in the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,405 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 4,051 shares in the last quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 50.5% during the 4th quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. now owns 38,964 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,354,000 after purchasing an additional 13,075 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $218,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $96.05.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB stock traded down $0.94 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $58.52. The stock had a trading volume of 6,018,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,749,303. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.95. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.00. The stock has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a PE ratio of -5.23 and a beta of 1.59. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $49.43 and a 52-week high of $137.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.37) by $0.19. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Albemarle's payout ratio is currently -14.46%.

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.