Bristlecone Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)

Key Points

• Bristlecone Advisors LLC increased its stake in Albemarle Corporation by 37.8%, holding nearly 39,714 shares valued at approximately $2.86 million at the end of the recent quarter.
• Albemarle's recent earnings report revealed a better-than-expected EPS of $0.11, significantly surpassing analysts' projections of a loss of $0.83, despite a 7% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• Shareholders can expect a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.3%, to be distributed on October 1st.

Bristlecone Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 37.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 39,714 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,890 shares during the quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC's holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Albemarle by 70.4% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 51,550 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,713,000 after purchasing an additional 21,296 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Albemarle by 17.1% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 284,338 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $20,478,000 after buying an additional 41,622 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 10.7% in the first quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 50,326 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,624,000 after buying an additional 4,872 shares in the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 14.6% during the first quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 5,938 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 11.1% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 669,119 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $48,190,000 after acquiring an additional 66,815 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB stock opened at $70.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.52 and a beta of 1.63. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $49.43 and a one year high of $113.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.48.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.94. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. Albemarle's revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.04 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is currently -17.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ALB. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $76.00 price objective on Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $88.06.

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.

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