Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Buys Shares of 2,067 Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,067 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ALB. USCF Advisers LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 2,942.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 21,400.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Up 8.1 %

NYSE ALB opened at $100.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.84. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $92.29 and a 52 week high of $247.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $118.14 and a 200-day moving average of $123.97.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $10.32 earnings per share. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total value of $194,950.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ALB. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $122.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $132.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down from $150.00) on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.78.

Albemarle Profile

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.