Occidental Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 40,861 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Occidental Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 40,861 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,313,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Albemarle by 10,050.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 36.8% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 7,257.1% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 248.0% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 689 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $162.82 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $136.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.37. Albemarle Corporation has a 52 week low of $49.43 and a 52 week high of $179.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -102.40, a PEG ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -101.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Stephens reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Albemarle from $118.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Rothschild Redb raised shares of Albemarle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.75.

Albemarle 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.