Mystic Asset Management Inc. Acquires New Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Mystic Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,921 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First Community Trust NA purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 610.0% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 2,942.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter valued at $32,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $87.44 on Friday. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $71.97 and a 12 month high of $188.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.80, a PEG ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.22.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.49). The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.38% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was down 39.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently 58.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $137.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $151.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.10.

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.