Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Buys Shares of 4,473 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 4,473 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $363,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 2.8% in the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 1.6% in the second quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,482 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 22,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,496,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 22,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $161.41 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -101.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 1.41. Albemarle Corporation has a 52 week low of $49.43 and a 52 week high of $164.98.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 0.43% and a positive return on equity of 0.10%. Albemarle’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.55) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -101.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ALB. HSBC upped their price target on Albemarle from $87.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on Albemarle from $135.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. UBS Group raised shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $107.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $159.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.28.

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.