Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Acquired by 1248 Management LLC

Key Points

• 1248 Management LLC increased its stake in Albemarle Corporation by 174.3%, now owning 8,850 shares worth approximately $638,000.
• Albemarle reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.11, significantly beating the consensus estimate of ($0.83), with revenue totaling $1.33 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.9%.

1248 Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 174.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,850 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 5,624 shares during the quarter. 1248 Management LLC's holdings in Albemarle were worth $638,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. National Pension Service increased its holdings in Albemarle by 74.5% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 84.1% during the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 670 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ALB. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho set a $76.00 price target on Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $62.00 to $89.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $86.47.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB traded up $2.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $81.44. The stock had a trading volume of 4,802,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,939,937. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $49.43 and a one year high of $113.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.31. The stock has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a PE ratio of -8.74 and a beta of 1.65. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $75.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.21.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.94. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%.The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.04 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Albemarle's payout ratio is currently -17.38%.

About Albemarle

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.