Sankala Group LLC Purchases New Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Sankala Group LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 4,102 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth $6,171,000. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,055,000. Three Seasons Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at about $873,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its stake in Albemarle by 493.3% in the fourth quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 84,011 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,883,000 after acquiring an additional 69,850 shares during the period. Finally, Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the third quarter worth about $3,233,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total value of $3,011,721.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ALB. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.54.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB opened at $160.13 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a 12-month low of $55.90 and a 12-month high of $221.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.88 billion, a PE ratio of -46.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $180.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.40.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -47.51%.

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.