Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Bought by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 53.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,053 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,152 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $159.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $152.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Truist Financial set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Albemarle from $132.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Albemarle from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.96.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $177.55 on Thursday. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $179.14. The company has a market capitalization of $20.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -111.67, a PEG ratio of 7.44 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $133.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.27.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -101.89%.

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.