State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB – Free Report) by 299.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 46,210 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,654 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $4,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at $358,101,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at $131,049,000. Amundi raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 827,874 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $111,784,000 after acquiring an additional 238,774 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth $103,268,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 78.5% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 730,745 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $131,191,000 after purchasing an additional 321,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.
Albemarle Stock Down 2.8%
Shares of ALB traded down $2.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $95.41. 2,218,195 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,552,698. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 353.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.36. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $88.01 and a 1 year high of $221.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $119.34 and its 200-day moving average is $145.71.
Albemarle (NYSE:ALB – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.30 earnings per share for the current year.
Albemarle Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.4050. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently 607.41%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. Barclays started coverage on Albemarle in a research report on Monday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $109.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research lowered Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.74.
Read Our Latest Research Report on ALB
About Albemarle
Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and markets materials used in energy storage, transportation, consumer products and industrial applications. The company is best known for its lithium business, which supplies lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics and energy-storage systems.
Albemarle also produces bromine-based specialty chemicals used in areas such as fire safety, water treatment, pharmaceutical manufacturing and other industrial processes.
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