Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 55.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,244 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 4,735 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verus Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $415,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Albemarle by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 28,679 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,056,000 after buying an additional 2,743 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $229,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Albemarle by 74.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 26,361 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,728,000 after buying an additional 11,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Albemarle by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 890,327 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $125,928,000 after buying an additional 158,713 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ALB shares. Evercore raised their price target on Albemarle from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Albemarle from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Albemarle from $230.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total value of $3,011,721.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Albemarle Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $147.41 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.30. Albemarle Corporation has a 52 week low of $55.90 and a 52 week high of $221.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $181.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -47.51%.

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.