National Bank of Canada FI Has $3.71 Million Stake in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Albemarle Corporation by 70.4%, owning 51,550 shares valued at $3.71 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors, including Manning & Napier Advisors and GAMMA Investing, have significantly raised their holdings in Albemarle during the first quarter, indicating growing confidence in the company.
• Albemarle's recent earnings report showed a quarterly EPS of $0.11, surpassing analysts' expectations but reflecting a 7% year-over-year revenue decline.

National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 70.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,550 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 21,296 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,657 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,414,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,355 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $977,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.6% during the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 9,028 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 6.7% during the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,782 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 6.7% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,244 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE:ALB traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $83.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,018,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,551,413. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $113.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $9.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.97 and a beta of 1.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.53 and a 200-day moving average of $67.83.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is currently -17.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Albemarle from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Mizuho set a $76.00 price objective on Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $89.17.

About Albemarle

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.