B. Riley Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Albemarle (NYSE: ALB – Get Rating) by 41.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its latest 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,534 shares of the specialty chemical company after acquiring an additional 2,198 of his shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors’ Albemarle holdings were valued at $1,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares in the company. Cozad Asset Management increased Albemarle shares by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. acquired 38 more shares last quarter and now owns 973 shares worth $211,000 in the specialty chemicals company. Central Trust increased Albemarle shares by 3.4% in the third quarter. The Central Trust Company acquired 38 more shares last quarter and now owns 1,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company, valued at $304,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Inc. raised Albemarle shares 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems acquired 40 more shares last quarter and now owns 9,209 shares of the specialty chemical company, valued at $1,997,000. Canal Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC acquired an additional 41 shares last quarter and now owns 1,407 shares of the specialty chemicals company, valued at $305,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised Albemarle’s stake by 51.2% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd acquired an additional 44 shares last quarter and now owns 130 shares of the specialty chemicals company, valued at $29,000. 87.03% of the shares are owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Albemarle price performance
NYSE:ALB shares opened Friday at $220.18. His 50-day moving average price for this company is $203.42 and his 200-day moving average price is $226.93. Albemarle hit a 12-month low of $171.82 and a 12-month high of $334.55. The company has a market capitalization of $25.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.06x, a PEG ratio of 0.63x and a beta of 1.54x. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt to equity ratio of 0.34.
Albemarle (NYSE:ALB – Get Rating) last reported earnings on Thursday, May 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported earnings per share of $10.32 for the quarter, beating consensus expectations of $6.93 by $3.39. Albemarle’s return on equity was 45.57% and net profit margin was 41.89%. The company had revenue of $2.58 billion in the quarter, compared with consensus expectations of $2.74 billion. The company’s EPS in the year-ago quarter was $2.38. The company’s revenue for the quarter increased by 128.8% over the same period last year. Research analysts expect Albemarle to post earnings per share of $22.77 this year.
Albemarle dividend announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend payable on Monday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 16 will be given his $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 15. This equates to a dividend of $1.60 for him on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73% for him. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.13%.
Wall Street analyst speaks out
Several research analysts have voiced their opinions about the company. HSBC lowered its price target on Albemarle to $300.00 from $360.00 in a research report on Friday. Bank of America raised its rating on Albemarle from “underperforming” to “neutral” and raised its price target to $200.00 from $195.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8. StockNews.com undertook coverage of Albemarle in an investigative report on Thursday, May 18. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. KeyCorp upgraded Albemarle’s rating from ‘sector weight’ to ‘overweight’ in its research report on Thursday, May 11, with a price target of $270.00. Finally, Loop Capital raised its price target on Albemarle to $403.00 from $397.00 in its research report on Friday, March 17. Two research analysts gave the stock a “sell” rating, six “hold” and 13 “buy”. Based on MarketBeat.com data, the stock’s consensus rating is currently “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $281.85.
insider bet
In other news, insider Eric Norris acquired 1,260 Albemarle shares in a deal on Wednesday, May 10. The shares were purchased at an average price of $195.49 per share for a total transaction value of $246,317.40. After the transaction, the insider now owns 26,596 shares of the company, valued at $5,199,252.04. The acquisition is disclosed in his SEC filings, available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Christine M. Coleman acquired 1,373 Albemarle shares in the Friday, May 5th transaction. The shares were purchased at his average price per share of $182.00, giving him a total trading value of $249,886.00. After the transaction, the executive vice president owns 1,373 shares of the company, valued at $249,886. The acquisition is disclosed in his SEC filings, available at this hyperlink. And insider Eric Norris bought 1,260 shares of the company in a deal that took place on Wednesday, May 10. The shares were purchased at an average price of $195.49 per share for a total value of $246,317.40. After the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,596 shares of the company, valued at $5,199,252.04. Disclosure information regarding this acquisition can be found here. Last quarter, insiders purchased 8,103 shares of the company, valued at $1,489,774. Currently, 0.38% of the shares are owned by insiders.
About Albemarle
(get rating)
Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. Lithium, Bromine and Catalysts He operates through three segments. The Lithium segment includes lithium compounds such as lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide and lithium chloride; lithium specialty products and reagents such as butyllithium and lithium aluminum hydride used in lithium batteries for consumer electronics and electric vehicles; We offer greases, thermoplastic elastomers for automobiles, and more. Tires, rubber soles, PET bottles, catalysts for chemical reactions, organic synthesis processes in the field of steroid chemistry and vitamins, life sciences, pharmaceutical industry and other markets.
References
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