Ritholtz Wealth Management Takes Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,206 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PGGM Investments lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 10.8% during the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,080,000 after purchasing an additional 115,081 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 14.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 165,074 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,384,000 after purchasing an additional 21,257 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter worth $267,000. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 866,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,308,000 after buying an additional 88,457 shares during the period. Finally, Bard Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 45.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 42,895 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,478,000 after buying an additional 13,380 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $187.97 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $142.13 and a 200-day moving average of $104.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -118.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $189.18.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $0.73. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 0.43% and a positive return on equity of 0.10%. Albemarle’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.55) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -101.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HSBC upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $152.48.

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.