Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 5,339 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,931 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,339 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Albemarle worth $11,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BOKF NA boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 36.8% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 565 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $177.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $20.88 billion, a PE ratio of -30.80, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $170.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $50.24 and a 1 year high of $206.00.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -28.17%.

Insider Activity

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $2,012,654.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at $22,995,808.68. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ALB. Zacks Research cut Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America raised Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $167.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Berenberg Bank set a $153.00 price objective on Albemarle in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $158.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.24.

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.