SIR Capital Management L.P. Purchases New Holdings in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• SIR Capital Management disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Albemarle, buying 122,115 shares worth about $17.27 million. The position makes Albemarle its 18th largest holding and about 1.9% of the portfolio.
• Albemarle has continued to attract institutional interest, with several hedge funds and asset managers recently adding to or initiating positions. Overall, 92.87% of the stock is held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Analysts remain generally upbeat on the stock after Albemarle beat quarterly earnings expectations, and the company also declared a $0.405 quarterly dividend. The consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $203.04.

SIR Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 122,115 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $17,272,000. Albemarle comprises about 1.9% of SIR Capital Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. SIR Capital Management L.P. owned 0.10% of Albemarle as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 25.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 26.2% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in Albemarle during the first quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle during the first quarter valued at approximately $411,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 536.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Argus raised their price objective on Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Albemarle from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn cut Albemarle from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $188.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.04.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB opened at $170.59 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.03. The company has a market capitalization of $20.12 billion, a PE ratio of -50.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.30. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $55.90 and a 1 year high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. Research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Albemarle's payout ratio is -47.51%.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total value of $3,011,721.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at $16,078,990.68. The trade was a 15.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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