Kailix Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Kailix Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 74.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 36,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 108,000 shares during the period. Albemarle comprises approximately 5.8% of Kailix Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Kailix Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $5,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in Albemarle during the third quarter worth $25,000. BOKF NA boosted its stake in Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Albemarle during the third quarter worth $40,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Albemarle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target on Albemarle to $225 from $210, suggesting further upside potential even though the rating remained neutral. Benzinga report on Citigroup target hike
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts increased price targets this week, including Wells Fargo, Robert W. Baird, and Mizuho, signaling improving sentiment toward Albemarle’s outlook. Tickerreport.com
• Positive Sentiment: Albemarle beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $2.95 versus $1.24 expected, while revenue also topped forecasts, driven by stronger lithium pricing and volumes. Zacks value-stock article
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage around the earnings call highlighted strong momentum, reinforcing the view that Albemarle’s operating trends improved meaningfully in the quarter. TipRanks earnings call summary
• Neutral Sentiment: One article compared Albemarle with LyondellBasell from a value-investing perspective, but it was more of a relative valuation discussion than a direct catalyst. Zacks comparison article

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Albemarle from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, January 12th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.04.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB opened at $203.72 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $179.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.41. Albemarle Corporation has a 1-year low of $53.70 and a 1-year high of $221.00. The company has a market cap of $24.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -59.74, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.36.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 8.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -47.51%.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $2,012,654.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at $22,995,808.68. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Albemarle

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.