Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Purchased by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

Key Points

• UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Albemarle Corporation by 23.0% during the first quarter, now owning 24,450 shares valued at $1,761,000.
• Analysts have varying opinions on Albemarle, with target price adjustments ranging from $58.00 to $89.00 and a consensus rating of "Reduce."
• Albemarle's latest quarter reported an EPS of $0.11, significantly beating the consensus estimate of ($0.83), despite a year-over-year revenue decrease of 7.0%.

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 23.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,450 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 4,570 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd's holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Albemarle Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:ALB traded down $0.09 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $80.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,254,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,795,064. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $77.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.00. The company has a market capitalization of $9.53 billion, a PE ratio of -8.69 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.31. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $113.91.

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

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 2.0%. Albemarle's payout ratio is presently -17.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Baird R W downgraded shares of Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho set a $76.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price 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 given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $86.47.

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.