Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC Purchases 70,000 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 53.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 200,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,000 shares during the quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $16,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ALB. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 25.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter worth $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth $411,000. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle in the second quarter valued at about $3,478,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.21.

Albemarle Stock Down 6.3%

Albemarle stock opened at $162.82 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $137.90 and a 200-day moving average of $102.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $179.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.16 billion, a PE ratio of -102.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 1.41.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $0.73. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 0.43% and a positive return on equity of 0.10%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.55) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -101.89%.

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.