Penserra Capital Management LLC Takes $748,000 Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,231 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $748,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 10,050.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 36.8% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Albemarle in the third quarter valued at $40,000. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 7,257.1% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 536.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Evercore increased their price target on Albemarle from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $118.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.16.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $163.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $19.24 billion, a PE ratio of -102.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.25. Albemarle Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.43 and a 1-year high of $195.68.

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

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.