Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Boosts Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 11,600.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 468 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 464 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $68,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 21,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 147.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $114.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $13.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.62, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.62. Albemarle Co. has a 1 year low of $106.69 and a 1 year high of $247.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.27.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.62 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently 11.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ALB. UBS Group lowered their price target on Albemarle from $137.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Albemarle from $191.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Berenberg Bank raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $160.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.05.

About Albemarle

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.