Cwm LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)

Cwm LLC boosted its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 20.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 142,425 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,953 shares during the period. Cwm LLC owned about 0.12% of Albemarle worth $10,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Allianz SE acquired a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Albemarle from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. 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. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler set a $68.00 price objective on Albemarle and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $91.62.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $71.92 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $61.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.36. Albemarle Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.43 and a 52-week high of $113.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.47 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by $0.44. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.92% and a negative net margin of 22.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. Albemarle's revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.57%.

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.

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