Rakuten Securities Inc. Acquires Shares of 875 Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 875 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in Albemarle by 3.4% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 51.2% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 130 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 164 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Albemarle by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 5,212 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,378,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its stake in Albemarle by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,593 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $114.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $13.44 billion, a PE ratio of 8.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $106.69 and a 52-week high of $247.44. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $123.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.95.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 26.62% and a net margin of 16.36%. The business’s revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.62 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Vertical Research cut Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Three equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.05.

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.