Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Makes New $2.14 Million Investment in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 15,856 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,141,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Pinkerton Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $2,785,000. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 181.8% during the 4th quarter. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. now owns 132,250 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $18,705,000 after buying an additional 85,320 shares in the last quarter. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $21,585,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 230,690 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,655,000 after buying an additional 74,202 shares during the period. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,246,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Scotiabank dropped their target price 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. HSBC raised their price target on Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.26.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $142.99 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $132.04 and a 200 day moving average of $160.73. 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 cap of $16.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 529.61 and a beta of 1.33. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $71.25 and a 12 month high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.55. Albemarle had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 600.00%.

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.