Covenant Partners LLC Purchases 1,011 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Covenant Partners LLC raised its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 84.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,205 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Covenant Partners LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $319,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. USCF Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Albemarle by 2,942.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new stake in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total value of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE:ALB traded down $4.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $103.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,818,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,988,571. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.47. The company has a market capitalization of $12.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.71, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Albemarle Co. has a twelve month low of $103.32 and a twelve month high of $247.44.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $10.32 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 2.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ALB. Mizuho increased their price target on Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $157.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, May 24th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Vertical Research lowered Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 8th. Three equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $165.11.

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.