Soviero Asset Management LP Buys 5,000 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Soviero Asset Management LP grew its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 17.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Soviero Asset Management LP's holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $878,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,657 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,414,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $837,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $1,997,000. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $930,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of Albemarle stock traded up $1.60 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $58.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,898,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,802,060. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $49.43 and a 1-year high of $129.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.18 and a beta of 1.71.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. Albemarle's quarterly revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is -14.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ALB. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. TD Securities reduced their price objective on 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 upgraded Albemarle to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.62.

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.