Baird Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. has significantly reduced its stake in Albemarle Corporation, selling 11,196 shares and decreasing its ownership by 58.2%.
• The specialty chemicals company recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.11, exceeding analyst expectations of ($0.83), despite a 7.0% drop in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• Albemarle declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.2%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 12th.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 58.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,031 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 11,196 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Albemarle were worth $579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in Albemarle by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,657 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,414,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,355 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its position in Albemarle by 74.5% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in Albemarle by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 9,028 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $650,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,782 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of ALB stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $80.95. 2,254,319 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,795,064. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $113.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.00. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.69 and a beta of 1.65.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.94. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. Albemarle's quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.04 EPS. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on ALB shares. Scotiabank increased their price target on Albemarle from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Albemarle from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Baird R W cut Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $86.47.

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.