Excalibur Management Corp Invests $257,000 in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Excalibur Management Corp acquired a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,168 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 10,050.0% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 7,257.1% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of ALB stock opened at $168.32 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $161.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.79. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $195.68. The company has a market capitalization of $19.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.27, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.09) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ALB. Argus upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Albemarle from $147.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America raised Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $167.00 to $190.00 in a report on Tuesday. Dbs Bank raised their price target on Albemarle from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Albemarle from $109.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.52.

About Albemarle

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.