Ethic Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its stock holdings in Albemarle Corporation by 30.6%, owning 32,780 shares worth $2,129,000 as of its latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and PGGM Investments, have raised their stakes significantly in Albemarle, indicating growing investor interest.
• Albemarle's stock has risen by 8.5%, currently priced at $105.65, and the company reported better-than-expected earnings, beating consensus estimates with an EPS of $0.11.

Ethic Inc. increased its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,780 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,685 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Albemarle by 0.5% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 343,210 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Albemarle by 3.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,072,921 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $77,272,000 after purchasing an additional 31,951 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments raised its holdings in Albemarle by 90.4% during the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,069,924 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $67,052,000 after purchasing an additional 507,975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 55.4% during the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 959,978 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $60,162,000 after purchasing an additional 342,321 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Friday. They set a "buy" rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $72.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Dbs Bank upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.33.

Albemarle Stock Up 8.5%

ALB stock opened at $105.65 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $85.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.43 billion, a PE ratio of -11.34 and a beta of 1.65. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $49.43 and a 12 month high of $113.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.04 earnings per share. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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