Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Buys New Stake in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 17,030 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,298,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 26.2% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the first quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the first quarter valued at approximately $411,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 177.8% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,878 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 3,762 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $189.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -119.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.43 and a 1 year high of $191.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $143.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.25.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.55) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on ALB. Mizuho increased their price target on Albemarle from $132.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Dbs Bank raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Albemarle from $145.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.48.

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.