GSA Capital Partners LLP Cuts Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

GSA Capital Partners LLP lowered its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 83.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,118 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 15,477 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the first quarter worth $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at $411,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 8.8% in the second quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,355 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $178.54 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.43 and a 1 year high of $206.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.70. The company has a market capitalization of $21.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.05, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.23.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.09) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -28.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $147.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $156.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Berenberg Bank set a $153.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Truist Financial raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $125.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.04.

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.