72,251 Shares in Albemarle Corporation $ALB Purchased by PDT Partners LLC

PDT Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 72,251 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,756,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth about $165,271,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $131,049,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $130,415,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter worth about $103,268,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Albemarle by 4,338.5% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 738,430 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $104,444,000 after purchasing an additional 721,793 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $161.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Albemarle from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.04.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB opened at $133.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 493.12 and a beta of 1.33. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $71.25 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $130.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

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

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 600.00%.

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.