Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA Buys New Shares in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. BOKF NA grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ALB shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $161.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.26.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.2%

ALB stock opened at $141.60 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 524.46 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Albemarle Corporation has a 1-year low of $71.25 and a 1-year high of $221.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.55. Albemarle had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.63 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This is an increase from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 600.00%.

Albemarle Company 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.