Waterloo Capital L.P. Invests $921,000 in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Waterloo Capital L.P. bought a new position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,511 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter worth about $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. BOKF NA increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% in the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% in 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 last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,078,990.68. The trade was a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Albemarle from $230.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.42.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $176.26 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $183.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Albemarle Corporation has a 1-year low of $53.70 and a 1-year high of $221.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.69, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.31.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued 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 positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -47.51%.

Albemarle Company 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.