Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC Purchases New Stake in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC has acquired a new position in Albemarle Corporation, purchasing 3,458 shares valued at approximately $217,000 during the second quarter.
• A significant majority, or 92.87%, of Albemarle's stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Recent analyst ratings have seen upgrades for Albemarle, with firms like JPMorgan and Mizuho setting target prices ranging from $60.00 to $80.00, reflecting a positive outlook on the company’s performance.

Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,458 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ALB. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth about $32,000. National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 74.5% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 84.1% during the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 670 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 54.4% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 727 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ALB. Mizuho set a $76.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $74.00 target price on shares of Albemarle and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $85.83.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of ALB stock opened at $80.45 on Tuesday. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $49.43 and a 12 month high of $113.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business's 50 day moving average is $77.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.16. The company has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a PE ratio of -8.63 and a beta of 1.64.

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 the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.04 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -17.38%.

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.

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