Allianz Asset Management GmbH Buys 145,634 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 65.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 369,481 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 145,634 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.31% of Albemarle worth $29,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its position in Albemarle by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 10,160 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Albemarle by 3.3% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,810 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.1% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.8% during the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Down 7.2%

NYSE:ALB opened at $156.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.45. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $49.43 and a one year high of $195.68. The firm has a market cap of $18.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -98.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued 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 company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 0.43% and a positive return on equity of 0.10%. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.55) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ALB. Argus raised their price target on Albemarle from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $125.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Dbs Bank raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $159.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.16.

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.