Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Purchased by CoreCap Advisors LLC

CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 266.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,727 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,437 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $381,000. Regatta Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 9,475 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,340,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Albemarle by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 31,032 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,389,000 after buying an additional 1,142 shares during the period. Finally, Lauer Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $260,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $177.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $172.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.93. Albemarle Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.43 and a 1-year high of $206.00. The firm has a market cap of $20.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -28.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $2,012,654.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at $22,995,808.68. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on ALB shares. Robert W. Baird set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Evercore upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.24.

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.