Concentric Capital Strategies LP Acquires Shares of 91,881 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Concentric Capital Strategies LP purchased a new position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 91,881 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,996,000. Concentric Capital Strategies LP owned about 0.08% of Albemarle at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 121.5% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Albemarle from $210.00 to $236.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Evercore increased their target price on Albemarle from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Vertical Research raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Albemarle from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.04.

Albemarle Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of ALB opened at $166.31 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $19.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $55.90 and a 1 year high of $221.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.25.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -47.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total value of $3,011,721.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. The trade was a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.