Private Advisor Group LLC Sells 4,282 Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)

Key Points

• Private Advisor Group LLC has reduced its stake in Albemarle Corporation by 15.3%, selling 4,282 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 23,741 shares valued at approximately $1.71 million.
• Albemarle reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.18), surpassing analyst expectations, though its revenue decreased by 20.9% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, yielding 1.93%, with a payout ratio currently at -14.57%.

Private Advisor Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 15.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,741 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 4,282 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Allianz SE bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $83.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.54 and a beta of 1.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $64.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.89. Albemarle Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.43 and a 52-week high of $113.91.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.92% and a negative net margin of 22.39%. Albemarle's quarterly revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. 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 1.93%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is currently -14.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ALB. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. 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. 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. UBS Group set a $57.00 price objective on Albemarle and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.00.

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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