Knuff & Co LLC Takes $2.84 Million Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 21,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,836,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $230,603,000 after buying an additional 207,770 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $102,464,000 after acquiring an additional 22,856 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,241,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $175,542,000 after acquiring an additional 453,881 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $165,271,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at $131,049,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $134.44 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $15.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 497.93 and a beta of 1.33. Albemarle Corporation has a 52 week low of $71.25 and a 52 week high of $221.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $133.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.11.

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

Albemarle Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ALB. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Vertical Research raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.26.

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.