Albemarle Corporation $ALB Stock Holdings Lifted by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 445.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,548 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 46,178 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $5,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ALB. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Albemarle by 3,700.0% in the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. NFSG Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 470.0% in the 3rd quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 342 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $96.14 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $105.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.34. Albemarle Corporation has a 52-week low of $89.77 and a 52-week high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.05. Albemarle had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.19) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 10.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 18th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 18th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently 39.61%.

Key Albemarle News

These are some of the ALB news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded Albemarle from “strong sell” to “hold,” a modest improvement in its view of the shares. Read more about the Zacks Research upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target for ALB, signaling greater potential upside in its valuation, though the reported headline did not give the new target. Read more about Citigroup’s price target increase
• Negative Sentiment: UBS Group and Morgan Stanley each cut their price targets for Albemarle, adding to concerns about the stock’s near-term upside. The reports did not specify the revised targets in the headlines. Read more about UBS’s price target cut Read more about Morgan Stanley’s price target cut

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ALB. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price (down from $185.00) on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Albemarle from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Albemarle from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.05.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation is a specialty chemicals company that produces lithium, bromine and refining catalysts. Its products serve industries including energy storage, transportation, electronics, petroleum refining and pharmaceuticals. The company supplies lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries and other applications. It also makes bromine-based products for uses such as flame retardants and water treatment, along with catalysts used in refining petroleum. Albemarle traces its history to 1887 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.