Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Invests $3.39 Million in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 41,850 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,393,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Albemarle by 10,050.0% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 7,257.1% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 248.0% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 689 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.8%

Albemarle stock opened at $144.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -90.56, a PEG ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 1.41. Albemarle Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.43 and a 1-year high of $152.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $122.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.36.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $0.73. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.10% and a negative net margin of 0.43%.The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.55) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -101.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $159.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Truist Financial set a $125.00 price target on Albemarle in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Zacks Research lowered Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on Albemarle from $135.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Albemarle from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.21.

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.