Legal & General Group Plc Takes Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 349,801 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,234,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. BOKF NA grew 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 approximately $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% during the second 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 bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $137.34 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 508.69 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $71.25 and a 1 year high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.55. Albemarle had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is 600.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ALB shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Albemarle from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Albemarle from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Albemarle from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.04.

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.