Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $956,000 in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired 13,269 shares of Albemarle Corporation, valued at approximately $956,000, signaling institutional interest in the specialty chemicals company.
• Analysts have mixed views on Albemarle, with six rating the stock as a sell, while the average target price has recently been adjusted down to $89.78.
• Albemarle announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405, marking a 2.4% yield for shareholders, with the payment date set for October 1st.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 13,269 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $956,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 84.1% in the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 670 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 51.1% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 908 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.4%

ALB traded down $0.95 on Wednesday, hitting $67.30. 2,104,561 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,451,456. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.31. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $49.43 and a 12 month high of $113.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.92 billion, a PE ratio of -7.22 and a beta of 1.63.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.94. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. The business's revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is -17.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Mizuho set a $76.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $88.06.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.