OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Acquires Shares of 5,897 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,897 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $788,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the second quarter worth $28,000. BOKF NA boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $166.00 to $157.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Albemarle from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.26.

Albemarle Trading Up 6.6%

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $142.99 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $71.25 and a 1 year high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $132.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.73. The company has a market capitalization of $16.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 529.61 and a beta of 1.33.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%.Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.41 dividend. This is an increase from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 600.00%.

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.