BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. Increases Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. raised its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 55,120 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 120 shares during the quarter. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $5,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 2,942.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 100.8% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 253 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.5 %

ALB stock traded down $1.40 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $90.25. The stock had a trading volume of 2,063,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,084,774. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.82, a PEG ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $71.97 and a 1-year high of $203.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $90.40 and a 200 day moving average of $110.70.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a positive return on equity of 6.38%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.33 earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ALB. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $85.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.10.

Albemarle 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.