Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Makes New Investment in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 7,395 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $463,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ALB. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Albemarle by 10,050.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 7,257.1% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 515 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 74.5% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Albemarle by 248.0% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 689 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $116.77 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.43 and a 1 year high of $127.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.53 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.14.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $0.73. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%.The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.55) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -101.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ALB. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $105.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.04.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.