Jupiter Topco LLC Buys Shares of 96,355 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Jupiter Topco LLC acquired 96,355 Albemarle shares worth approximately $13 million, representing a 0.08% stake. Other institutional investors also initiated positions, with institutions collectively owning 92.87% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 15 Buy, 10 Hold, and one Sell rating. Albemarle has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $190.04.
• Albemarle exceeded quarterly expectations with $3.75 in EPS and $1.74 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 31.1% year over year. Shares opened at $137.34, and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share.

Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 96,355 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $13,001,000. Jupiter Topco LLC owned 0.08% of Albemarle at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ALB. EFG International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new position in Albemarle during the second quarter worth $358,101,000. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the second quarter worth $9,756,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the second quarter worth $48,407,000. Finally, Castleark Management LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the second quarter valued at $327,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Albemarle from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Zacks Research cut shares of Albemarle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Vertical Research raised shares of Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $224.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.04.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $137.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $16.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 508.69 and a beta of 1.33. Albemarle Corporation has a 52-week low of $71.25 and a 52-week high of $221.00. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $129.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.74.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.55. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%.The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

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

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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