Albemarle Corporation $ALB Stake Boosted by Bard Financial Services Inc.

Bard Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 45.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 42,895 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 13,380 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,478,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Albemarle by 10,050.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 7,257.1% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 536.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 248.0% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 689 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth $47,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ALB shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Dbs Bank raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $87.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.21.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $149.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $49.43 and a one year high of $152.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $118.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.65 billion, a PE ratio of -94.33 and a beta of 1.43.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $0.73. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.10% and a negative net margin of 0.43%.The business’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.55) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -101.89%.

Albemarle Profile

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company’s bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world’s foremost chemical producers.