US Bancorp DE Sells 31,576 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

US Bancorp DE lessened its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 124,664 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 31,576 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE owned 0.11% of Albemarle worth $10,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 26.2% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter worth approximately $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth approximately $411,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,355 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB stock opened at $178.54 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $206.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $21.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.44. The business’s fifty day moving average is $166.65 and its 200-day moving average is $122.70.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.13). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.09) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -28.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ALB. HSBC upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Albemarle from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.04.

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.