Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Takes $511,000 Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,785 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $511,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Albemarle during the second quarter valued at $167,000. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter worth about $364,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth about $57,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter worth about $556,000. Finally, Tema ETFs LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 2,249 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research cut Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Albemarle from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.26.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $132.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $15.67 billion, a PE ratio of 491.94 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Albemarle Corporation has a 12-month low of $71.25 and a 12-month high of $221.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $133.34 and a 200 day moving average of $161.43.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The business’s revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 600.00%.

Albemarle Profile

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company’s bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world’s foremost chemical producers.