Albemarle Corporation $ALB Stock Holdings Lifted by Cwm LLC

Cwm LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 14.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 165,074 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,257 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC owned 0.14% of Albemarle worth $13,384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Albemarle by 10,050.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 7,257.1% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 536.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Albemarle by 248.0% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 689 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ALB shares. UBS Group upgraded Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $107.00 to $185.00 in a report on Friday, December 5th. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $87.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Dbs Bank boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Albemarle from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.21.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.0%

Albemarle stock opened at $149.99 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Albemarle Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.43 and a 1-year high of $152.08. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.48. The company has a market capitalization of $17.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -94.33 and a beta of 1.42.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.73. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 0.43% and a positive return on equity of 0.10%. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.55) earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -101.89%.

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.