Earnest Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC has reduced its holdings in Albemarle Corporation by 1.2%, owning approximately 1.20% of the stock valued at $101.9 million after selling 17,300 shares in the first quarter.
• Albemarle's stock has experienced fluctuations, with a 12-month low of $49.43 and a high of $113.91, currently trading around $81.52.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Albemarle, with the consensus being a “Reduce” rating and an average target price of $90.67, indicating potential volatility ahead.

Earnest Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,414,853 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 17,300 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned approximately 1.20% of Albemarle worth $101,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,672,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,056,697,000 after purchasing an additional 77,773 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,990,762 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $171,365,000 after acquiring an additional 25,207 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Albemarle by 28.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 343,210 shares in the last quarter. 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 in the last quarter. 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler set a $68.00 price target on Albemarle and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Albemarle from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group raised Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Baird R W lowered Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $90.67.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $81.52 on Wednesday. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month 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 market capitalization of $9.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.75 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.92.

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. 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 the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.04 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is presently -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.

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