10,247 Shares in Albemarle Corporation $ALB Acquired by JT Stratford LLC

Key Points

• JT Stratford LLC bought a new position of 10,247 shares of Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) in the third quarter, valued at about $831,000 per the company's latest 13F filing.
• Wall Street analysts have recently lifted multiple price targets, leaving Albemarle with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a mean price target of $170.04.
• Albemarle reported Q results with EPS of -$0.53 (missing estimates) while revenue beat at $1.43 billion, and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share (1.0% yield).

JT Stratford LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,247 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $831,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 25.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 26.2% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter valued at about $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at about $411,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Albemarle by 4.0% during the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 17,866 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,120,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on ALB shares. Argus increased their price objective on Albemarle from $140.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Truist Financial raised Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $156.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.04.

Albemarle Stock Down 2.9%

ALB stock opened at $163.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.43. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $49.43 and a 12 month high of $206.00. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $168.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 10.74% and a positive return on equity of 0.41%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.09) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -28.17%.

Albemarle 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.

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