Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Invests $4.07 Million in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 50,156 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,067,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. VCI Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $932,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 14.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 165,074 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $13,384,000 after purchasing an additional 21,257 shares in the last quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 72.6% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 70,860 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,745,000 after purchasing an additional 29,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 143,277 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,621,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.0%

Albemarle stock opened at $149.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.65 billion, a PE ratio of -94.33 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $118.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.10. Albemarle Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.43 and a 1-year high of $152.08.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.73. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.10% and a negative net margin of 0.43%.The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.55) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -101.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Rothschild Redb raised shares of Albemarle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Albemarle from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $159.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $125.00 price objective on Albemarle in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.21.

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.