Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC Makes New $27.01 Million Investment in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 200,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,006,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Evexia Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 2.3% during the first quarter. Evexia Wealth LLC now owns 2,088 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,468 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $816,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 2,952 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,592 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $135.93 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $71.25 and a twelve month high of $221.00. The stock has a market cap of $16.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 503.46 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company’s fifty day moving average is $129.71 and its 200-day moving average is $159.90.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.55. The business 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.63 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 600.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ALB. Zacks Research lowered Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.04.

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.