Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Sold by FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd.

FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. trimmed its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 39.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 317,785 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 207,231 shares during the quarter. Albemarle makes up 2.4% of FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. owned about 0.27% of Albemarle worth $25,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ALB. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Albemarle by 10,050.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 36.8% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 7,257.1% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 248.0% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 689 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Up 2.0%

ALB opened at $161.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.00 billion, a PE ratio of -101.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $164.98. The business has a 50-day moving average of $128.81 and a 200-day moving average of $97.30.

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

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -101.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $152.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Albemarle from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Truist Financial set a $125.00 price objective on Albemarle in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $159.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.28.

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.