Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Takes $9.27 Million Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 107,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,268,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned 0.09% of Albemarle as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 71.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after buying an additional 6,234 shares during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 28,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,481,000 after buying an additional 4,899 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 172.1% in the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,405 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 4,051 shares during the last quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 50.5% in the 4th quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. now owns 38,964 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,354,000 after purchasing an additional 13,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth $218,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB opened at $57.73 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $68.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.48. Albemarle Co. has a 1 year low of $49.43 and a 1 year high of $137.50. The company has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.15 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

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

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Albemarle from $86.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Albemarle from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.05.

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.