Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Bought by Allstate Corp

Key Points

• Allstate Corp increased its stake in Albemarle Corporation by 110.2% in Q1, acquiring an additional 3,910 shares, bringing its total to 7,459 shares worth $537,000.
• Albemarle announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, with a payout ratio of -17.38%, indicating the company has a negative return on equity.
• Research analysts have mixed ratings on Albemarle stock, with three Buy ratings, nine Hold ratings, and five Sell ratings, and a consensus price target of $89.17.

Allstate Corp raised its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 110.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,459 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,910 shares during the period. Allstate Corp's holdings in Albemarle were worth $537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,672,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,056,697,000 after acquiring an additional 77,773 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,990,762 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $171,365,000 after buying an additional 25,207 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 28.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,706 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $110,814,000 after buying an additional 343,210 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Albemarle by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,290,797 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $111,112,000 after acquiring an additional 139,600 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 1,167,520 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $84,085,000 after acquiring an additional 173,441 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE ALB traded down $0.05 on Friday, reaching $84.87. 1,731,221 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,224,362. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $113.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.75 and a 200 day moving average of $68.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.99 billion, a PE ratio of -9.11 and a beta of 1.63.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%.The firm's revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.04 earnings per share. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is currently -17.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. Wall Street Zen raised Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Baird R W cut Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Albemarle from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $62.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $86.47.

Albemarle Company 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.