21,000 Shares in Albemarle Corporation $ALB Acquired by Knuff & Co LLC

Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 21,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,836,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BOKF NA grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% in the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 536.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 121.5% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $134.44 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $133.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.11. The company has a market capitalization of $15.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 497.93 and a beta of 1.33. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $71.25 and a 1 year high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 600.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on ALB shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.26.

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.