Lewis Asset Management LLC Has $600,000 Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Lewis Asset Management LLC grew its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,337 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,344 shares during the period. Lewis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $600,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth approximately $262,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Albemarle by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 13,987 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,816,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 170.9% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 669 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group acquired a new position in Albemarle in the first quarter worth $265,000. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 3.5% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,186 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $99.93 on Friday. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $71.97 and a 12 month high of $153.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $11.74 billion, a PE ratio of -21.13 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.56.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.55) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.31) by ($1.24). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.38% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -34.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ALB. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Baird R W cut shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Albemarle from $128.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.00.

About Albemarle

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.