National Bank of Canada FI Has $3.71 Million Stock Position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)

National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 70.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 51,550 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 21,296 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 1,167,520 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $84,085,000 after buying an additional 173,441 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 6,393.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 152,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,975,000 after buying an additional 150,047 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 1,213.0% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 158,649 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,657,000 after buying an additional 146,566 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 294.7% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 187,072 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $16,103,000 after buying an additional 139,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,290,797 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $111,112,000 after buying an additional 139,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.2%

Albemarle stock opened at $81.52 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a 52 week low of $49.43 and a 52 week high of $113.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.75 and a beta of 1.63. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.11.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.94. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.04 earnings per share. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -17.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ALB. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho set a $76.00 target price on Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Baird R W cut Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.06.

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.