Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases Shares of 18,358 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd disclosed a new first-quarter stake in Albemarle, buying 18,358 shares valued at about $3.3 million.
• Albemarle shares fell 4.5% in Tuesday trading to $127.79, well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $2.95 EPS versus $1.24 expected and revenue of $1.43 billion, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $199.58.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 18,358 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $3,296,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 190.1% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 293 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 121.5% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Down 4.5%

Shares of ALB stock traded down $6.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $127.79. 558,001 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,522,392. Albemarle Corporation has a 52-week low of $64.95 and a 52-week high of $221.00. The stock has a market cap of $15.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.55 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The stock's fifty day moving average is $168.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.48.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Albemarle's payout ratio is presently -47.51%.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ALB shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Albemarle from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Vertical Research raised Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $224.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Albemarle from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.58.

Albemarle Company 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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