Allianz Asset Management GmbH Grows Stock Holdings in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 65.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 369,481 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 145,634 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $29,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the third quarter worth $138,723,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 48.5% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,870,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $179,870,000 after purchasing an additional 937,538 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 22,047.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 713,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,613,000 after buying an additional 710,589 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,482,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 1,278.8% in the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 440,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $35,725,000 after buying an additional 408,652 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Down 7.2%

NYSE ALB opened at $156.60 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.43 and a 1 year high of $195.68. 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 company has a market capitalization of $18.43 billion, a PE ratio of -98.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $153.36 and a 200 day moving average of $111.45.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.73. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during 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 company’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.55) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Truist Financial raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Dbs Bank raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Albemarle from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.16.

About Albemarle

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.