Ethic Inc. Has $1.80 Million Stock Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. reduced its stake in Albemarle Corporation by 16.3%, now owning 25,095 shares valued at approximately $1.80 million.
• Albemarle's latest quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $0.11 earnings per share against analysts' estimates of ($0.83), but its revenue declined by 7% year-over-year.
• The company's stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price averaging $89.17, despite losing price support from several analysts.

Ethic Inc. trimmed its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 16.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,095 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 4,895 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,802,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Tejara Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter worth approximately $2,451,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 28.7% in 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. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 314.3% in the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 83,374 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $6,005,000 after purchasing an additional 63,248 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 74.5% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 13.0% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,483 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 6,513 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB stock traded up $2.3570 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $81.2970. 2,875,111 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,158,478. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.72 and a beta of 1.63.

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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -17.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. TD Securities cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $89.17.

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.