Allstate Corp Buys Shares of 3,549 Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,549 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 50.4% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Albemarle by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA increased its position in Albemarle by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 4,655 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ALB shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.30.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $72.33 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $8.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.46 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $78.53 and a 200-day moving average of $90.52. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $67.23 and a 52-week high of $137.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. As a group, analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.46%.

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.