Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Position Boosted by Cetera Investment Advisers

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Albemarle Corporation by 19.8% in the first quarter, holding 32,468 shares valued at approximately $2.34 million.
• Albemarle's stock has seen a 7.6% increase recently, with its prices reaching $75.36 during mid-day trading.
• The company plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.405 on October 1st, offering a 2.1% dividend yield.

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 19.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,468 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,369 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 1,167,520 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $84,085,000 after acquiring an additional 173,441 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 6,393.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 152,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $10,975,000 after acquiring an additional 150,047 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc grew its position in Albemarle by 1,213.0% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 158,649 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $13,657,000 after acquiring an additional 146,566 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 294.7% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 187,072 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $16,103,000 after buying an additional 139,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,290,797 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $111,112,000 after buying an additional 139,600 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock traded up $5.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $75.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,613,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,227,989. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $67.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.20. The company has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a PE ratio of -8.09 and a beta of 1.63. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $49.43 and a 12 month high of $113.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

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

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -17.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Baird R W cut Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $85.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. TD Securities cut their target price on Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.