Corient Private Wealth LP Acquires Shares of 22,748 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 22,748 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,071,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 25.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at about $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at about $411,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 536.7% in 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 in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $135.30 on Wednesday. Albemarle Corporation has a 12-month low of $71.25 and a 12-month high of $221.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.18. The company has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a PE ratio of 501.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.55. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%.The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ALB. Mizuho lowered their price target on Albemarle from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Albemarle from $166.00 to $157.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their target price on Albemarle from $188.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on Albemarle from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.04.

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.