Albemarle Corporation $ALB Stock Purchased by NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC

Key Points

• NorthCrest Asset Management increased its Albemarle position by 473.6% in the third quarter, holding 49,249 shares valued at approximately $5.21 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.87% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 15 Buy, 9 Hold, and 2 Sell ratings; Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.96.
• Albemarle shares opened at $97.78, well below their 52-week high of $221.00. The company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.41 per share.

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 473.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 49,249 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 40,663 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in Albemarle were worth $5,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth $358,101,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 78.5% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 730,745 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $131,191,000 after purchasing an additional 321,400 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at $131,049,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Albemarle by 0.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 652,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $117,178,000 after buying an additional 4,374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Albemarle by 40.5% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 827,874 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $111,784,000 after buying an additional 238,774 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Albemarle from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Argus decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $230.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.96.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of ALB stock opened at $97.78 on Wednesday. Albemarle Corporation has a 52-week low of $88.01 and a 52-week high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.18. The company has a market capitalization of $11.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 362.18, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.36.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $0.11 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a $0.41 dividend. This is a boost from Albemarle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.4050. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is currently 607.41%.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation NYSE: ALB is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and markets materials used in energy storage, transportation, consumer products and industrial applications. The company is best known for its lithium business, which supplies lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics and energy-storage systems.

Albemarle also produces bromine-based specialty chemicals used in areas such as fire safety, water treatment, pharmaceutical manufacturing and other industrial processes.

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