Wills Financial Group LLC Acquires New Stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)

Key Points

• Wills Financial Group LLC has acquired a new stake in Albemarle Corporation, purchasing 8,746 shares valued at approximately $630,000 in the 1st quarter.
• Albemarle reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.11, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of ($0.83) and a revenue of $1.33 billion for the same period.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405, which will be paid to stockholders of record on September 12th, representing a dividend yield of 2.4%.

Wills Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,746 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $630,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 84.1% during the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 670 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 51.1% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 908 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Up 0.1%

Albemarle stock opened at $67.94 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.47. Albemarle Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.43 and a 1-year high of $113.91. The company has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of -7.29 and a beta of 1.63. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $66.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.88.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%. Albemarle's revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.04 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business 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 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is currently -17.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on ALB. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Albemarle from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird restated an "underperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Albemarle from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $89.78.

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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