Choreo LLC Invests $473,000 in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Choreo LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 3,321 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. BOKF NA increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 5,771.4% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 411 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 536.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $197.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.30 billion, a PE ratio of -34.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.43. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $50.85 and a one year high of $215.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $173.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.42.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.13). 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 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.The business’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.09) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -28.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on ALB shares. Evercore increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $158.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $195.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.60.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $2,012,654.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares in the company, valued at $22,995,808.68. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.