CMC Financial Group Makes New Investment in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

CMC Financial Group bought a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,922 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $413,000. Albemarle makes up 0.7% of CMC Financial Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $138,723,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,475,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $119,710,000 after purchasing an additional 52,698 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $102,464,000 after acquiring an additional 22,856 shares during the period. PGGM Investments lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,080,000 after acquiring an additional 115,081 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 60.9% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 784,083 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,138,000 after acquiring an additional 296,861 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ALB. Bank of America raised shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $167.00 to $190.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Stephens reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $189.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Argus upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $140.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Two investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.60.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $185.22 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $21.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.21, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.43. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $171.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.70. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $50.85 and a one year high of $206.00.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -28.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $22,995,808.68. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.