Waterloo Capital L.P. Acquires Shares of 6,511 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Waterloo Capital disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Albemarle, buying 6,511 shares worth about $921,000. Institutional ownership remains very high, with 92.87% of the stock held by institutions and hedge funds.
• Several analysts turned more positive on Albemarle, with firms including Argus, Scotiabank, Bank of America, and Zacks raising targets or ratings. The stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $201.42.
• Albemarle reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $2.95 EPS on $1.43 billion in revenue and beating estimates on both lines. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, payable July 1.

Waterloo Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,511 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $921,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its holdings in Albemarle by 114.4% in the 4th quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 4,830 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 2,577 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $165,271,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $282,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 18,644 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,637,000 after buying an additional 2,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $289,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 87,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,078,990.68. This represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus upped their price objective on Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Albemarle from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Zacks Research upgraded Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Albemarle from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.42.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $176.26 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $20.79 billion, a PE ratio of -51.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.31. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $53.70 and a 12 month high of $221.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $183.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.18.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.39 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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

About Albemarle

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ALB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.