Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. Invests $754,000 in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. bought a new stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,582 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $754,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $358,101,000. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,630,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $230,603,000 after purchasing an additional 207,770 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Albemarle by 1.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,263,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $102,464,000 after purchasing an additional 22,856 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Albemarle by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,241,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $175,542,000 after purchasing an additional 453,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $165,271,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.1%

ALB opened at $134.59 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $130.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.09. 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 has a market cap of $15.88 billion, a PE ratio of 498.50 and a beta of 1.33. Albemarle Corporation has a 52 week low of $71.25 and a 52 week high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.55. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%.The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.63 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ALB shares. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $244.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their target price on Albemarle from $188.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.04.

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.