Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $3.47 Million in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 40,300 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $3,469,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 340.6% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB traded up $2.68 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $59.69. The stock had a trading volume of 4,070,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,868,642. The firm has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.33 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $120.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $58.39 and a 200-day moving average of $77.89.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. The business's revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Albemarle's payout ratio is -14.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on ALB. UBS Group decreased their price target on Albemarle from $86.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Albemarle to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $91.62.

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.