SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC Increases Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 21.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,908 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 4,655 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Albemarle by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in 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 last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 626 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Securities dropped their price target on Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $86.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.62.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $59.85 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.34 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $57.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.81. Albemarle Co. has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $118.80.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by $0.44. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -14.57%.

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.