Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp Buys Shares of 1,337 Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,337 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ALB. Quarry LP lifted its position in Albemarle by 1,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 340.6% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 606.5% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 50.4% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Community Trust NA increased its position in Albemarle by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of ALB opened at $75.73 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $80.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.76 and a beta of 1.70. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $67.23 and a 12-month high of $137.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. As a group, research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Clarkson Capital started coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.30.

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.