CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC Takes Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 7,858 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $744,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 3.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. grew its position in Albemarle by 4.1% in the second quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its position in Albemarle by 0.3% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 42,529 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $4,031,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 61.9% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on ALB shares. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Albemarle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $114.47.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $108.38 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $97.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.44. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $153.54. The company has a market capitalization of $12.74 billion, a PE ratio of -6.47 and a beta of 1.55.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -9.67%.

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.

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