Core Capital Management & Research inc. Buys Shares of 15,316 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Core Capital Management & Research inc. purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 15,316 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,194,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 190.1% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 293 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 121.5% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at about $54,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ALB. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Vertical Research raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price target on Albemarle from $188.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.04.

Albemarle Stock Down 2.6%

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 stock has a market capitalization of $14.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 467.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $127.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $157.63. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $71.25 and a 12 month high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced 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. 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 analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 600.00%.

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.