Nuveen Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 317,963 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,800 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $27,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,908 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 4,655 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 626 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ALB. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. TD Securities lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $85.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.62.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $58.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.18 and a beta of 1.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $61.87 and a 200-day moving average of $80.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $49.43 and a 52 week high of $129.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by $0.44. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. The business’s revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -14.57%.

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.