Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA Invests $646,000 in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA purchased a new position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ALB. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BOKF NA lifted its position in Albemarle by 5,771.4% in the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $141.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 524.46 and a beta of 1.33. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $71.25 and a one year high of $221.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $131.49 and a 200 day moving average of $160.50.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%.Albemarle’s revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.63 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ALB. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Albemarle from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.26.

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.