Blue Capital Inc. Buys Shares of 17,946 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Blue Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 17,946 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,222,000. Albemarle makes up about 2.1% of Blue Capital Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BOKF NA raised its holdings in Albemarle by 5,771.4% in the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 536.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Albemarle from $230.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB stock opened at $135.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.67, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Albemarle Corporation has a 12-month low of $64.24 and a 12-month high of $221.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $171.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -47.51%.

About Albemarle

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.