Readystate Asset Management LP Purchases Shares of 25,450 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 25,450 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,063,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PGGM Investments boosted its stake in Albemarle by 10.8% during the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,185,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,080,000 after acquiring an additional 115,081 shares in the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,313,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 165,074 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $13,384,000 after purchasing an additional 21,257 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $267,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 866,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,308,000 after buying an additional 88,457 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ALB shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $156.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Albemarle from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Bank of America raised shares of Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $167.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.32.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $168.72 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $159.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.07. Albemarle Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.43 and a 52-week high of $195.68. The company has a market cap of $19.88 billion, a PE ratio of -29.34, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.13). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 10.74% and a positive return on equity of 0.41%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.09) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

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.