Kanawha Capital Management LLC Has $427,000 Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Kanawha Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,467 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. First Community Trust NA bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 610.0% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised 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 acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ALB. HSBC cut shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Baird R W lowered shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.60.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE ALB traded up $3.62 on Friday, hitting $90.50. The stock had a trading volume of 2,203,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,124,631. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $71.97 and a 52-week high of $203.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.67. The company has a market capitalization of $10.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $91.20 and a 200-day moving average of $111.63.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.49). The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.38% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.91%.

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.