Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Takes $48.41 Million Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 358,493 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,407,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at $327,000. SIR Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter worth $11,254,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter worth $47,234,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter worth $9,115,000. Finally, Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter worth $646,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.1%

ALB stock opened at $135.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.04 billion, a PE ratio of 503.46 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $129.71 and a 200-day moving average of $159.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.09. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $71.25 and a one year high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The business’s revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.63 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 600.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ALB. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Vertical Research upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised Albemarle from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Albemarle from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.04.

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.