Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 17,426 Shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank decreased its stake in Albemarle Corporation by 16.4%, selling 17,426 shares in the first quarter, leaving it with approximately 88,783 shares valued at $6,394,000.
• Albemarle reported earnings that beat expectations, with $0.11 EPS against a consensus estimate of ($0.83), despite a 7.0% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, which will be paid on October 1st, resulting in a 2.35% dividend yield.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 16.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,783 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 17,426 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.08% of Albemarle worth $6,394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 29,685 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,555,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $39,405,000. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at $305,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at $218,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 169,206 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $14,565,000 after buying an additional 9,953 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of ALB stock opened at $68.89 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.57. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $113.91. The company has a market capitalization of $8.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.20 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.94. The company 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 1.92% and a negative net margin of 22.39%. The firm's revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.04 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is currently -14.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle has a consensus 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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