Blue Edge Capital LLC Has $1.20 Million Stock Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Blue Edge Capital LLC lessened its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 64.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,892 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 16,015 shares during the quarter. Blue Edge Capital LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Albemarle by 13,478.5% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 18,483,447 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,495,820,000 after acquiring an additional 18,347,324 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $358,101,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $165,271,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Albemarle during the second quarter worth approximately $131,049,000. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $130,415,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB opened at $126.22 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.63. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $71.25 and a 1 year high of $221.00. The company has a market capitalization of $14.89 billion, a PE ratio of 467.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.33.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. Research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.39 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 600.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on ALB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and set a $161.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $166.00 to $157.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.04.

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.