Krane Funds Advisors LLC Sells 3,387 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Krane Funds Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 22,879 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,387 shares during the period. Krane Funds Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ALB. PGGM Investments raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 10.8% in the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $96,080,000 after buying an additional 115,081 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter worth $3,313,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 14.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 165,074 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,384,000 after purchasing an additional 21,257 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the second quarter valued at $267,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 866,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,308,000 after purchasing an additional 88,457 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Up 5.4%

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $177.51 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.96. The firm has a market cap of $20.92 billion, a PE ratio of -30.87, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.44. 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 0.41, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.13). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 10.74% and a positive return on equity of 0.41%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.09) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Berenberg Bank set a $153.00 target price on Albemarle in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $145.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.24.

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.