Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Acquires New Stake in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Rakuten Investment Management acquired 12,504 Albemarle shares worth approximately $1.62 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 92.87% of ALB.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $190.04, although several firms recently lowered their targets.
• Albemarle exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.75 in earnings per share and $1.74 billion in revenue, up 31.1% year over year. The company declared a $0.41 quarterly dividend, equal to a 1.2% annualized yield.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,504 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,622,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 190.1% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 293 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 121.5% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA bought a new position in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter worth approximately $54,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ALB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $166.00 to $157.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Albemarle from $236.00 to $224.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $190.04.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $137.34 on Monday. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $71.25 and a one year high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $129.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 508.69 and a beta of 1.33.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This is a boost from Albemarle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Albemarle's payout ratio 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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