SIR Capital Management L.P. Makes New $11.25 Million Investment in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• SIR Capital Management purchased 83,342 Albemarle shares worth approximately $11.25 million, making ALB 1.3% of its portfolio. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.87% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with 15 Buy, 10 Hold, and 1 Sell rating; the stock has an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $190.26.
• Albemarle exceeded quarterly expectations with $3.75 in EPS and $1.74 billion in revenue, up 31.1% year over year. The company maintained its $0.41 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.2% annual yield.

SIR Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 83,342 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $11,254,000. Albemarle makes up 1.3% of SIR Capital Management L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. SIR Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.07% of Albemarle at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ALB. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $165,271,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Albemarle in the second quarter worth $131,049,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $130,415,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the second quarter valued at $103,268,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 4,338.5% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 738,430 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $104,444,000 after purchasing an additional 721,793 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ALB. Morgan Stanley reiterated a "reduce" rating and issued a $161.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a report on Monday, August 10th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on Albemarle from $153.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Albemarle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $190.26.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB opened at $141.60 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $131.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.50. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $71.25 and a twelve month high of $221.00. The company has a market capitalization of $16.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 524.46 and a beta of 1.33.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

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