BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. Purchases New Shares in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 46,930 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,805,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter worth about $138,723,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 48.5% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,870,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $179,870,000 after purchasing an additional 937,538 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 22,047.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 713,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,613,000 after purchasing an additional 710,589 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,482,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 1,278.8% in the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 440,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $35,725,000 after purchasing an additional 408,652 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $169.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $169.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.49, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.43. Albemarle Corporation has a 52 week low of $49.43 and a 52 week high of $206.00. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.13). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 10.74% and a positive return on equity of 0.41%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.09) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -28.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ALB. Bank of America upgraded Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $167.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Albemarle from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $165.00 price objective on Albemarle in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.24.

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.