1832 Asset Management L.P. Purchases 149,483 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 879,311.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 149,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 149,483 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.13% of Albemarle worth $14,280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 2,942.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 100.8% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 253 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $151.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $160.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.10.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $88.71 on Tuesday. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $71.97 and a 52 week high of $177.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $10.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.26, a P/E/G ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 1.54. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $86.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.39.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.49). The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 6.38% and a negative net margin of 6.72%. The firm’s revenue was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 58.91%.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.