Electron Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Electron Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 222,307 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,911,000. Albemarle comprises 1.6% of Electron Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 1,455.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,921,000 after acquiring an additional 30,862 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.8% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 125,562 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $22,542,000 after purchasing an additional 3,449 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $253,000. Everest Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $658,000. Finally, Themes Management Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $116.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.07. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $64.95 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.69 billion, a PE ratio of -34.03 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.08.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -48.09%.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares in the company, valued at $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ALB shares. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Zacks Research cut shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.87.

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.