Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Albemarle Corporation by 6.6%, acquiring an additional 5,233 shares, bringing its total ownership to 84,097 shares valued at approximately $6.06 million.
• Albemarle's stock price decreased by 1.4% to $67.30, with its market capitalization currently at $7.92 billion, and a P/E ratio of -7.22.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.4%, with a payout ratio of -17.38%.

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,097 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,233 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Albemarle worth $6,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 1.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in Albemarle by 2.6% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,782 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,244 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho set a $76.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Albemarle to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $88.06.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB traded up $2.78 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $70.08. The company had a trading volume of 5,431,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,242,201. The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.31. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.43 and a 1 year high of $113.91.

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 for 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%. The firm's revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.04 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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

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.