Candriam S.C.A. Reduces Holdings in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. significantly reduced its stake in Albemarle Corporation by 57.5%, selling 10,261 shares and now holding 7,579 shares valued at approximately $546,000.
• Albemarle's recent quarterly earnings showed a profit of $0.11 EPS, surpassing analyst expectations of a loss, while its revenue decreased by 7.0% year-over-year, totaling $1.33 billion.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Albemarle, with a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $89.17, reflecting a range of ratings from "Buy" to "Strong Sell."

Candriam S.C.A. trimmed its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 57.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,579 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 10,261 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Albemarle were worth $546,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 77,773 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 1.3% in the 4th 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 increased its holdings in Albemarle by 28.7% in the 1st 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. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,432,153 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $123,280,000 after buying an additional 8,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake 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 valued at $111,112,000 after acquiring an additional 139,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. UBS Group raised Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $89.00 in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $74.00 target price on Albemarle and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $86.47.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $84.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,731,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,224,362. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.99 billion, a PE ratio of -9.11 and a beta of 1.63. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $73.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.13. 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 1-year low of $49.43 and a 1-year high of $113.91.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.94. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.04 EPS. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is currently -17.38%.

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.