Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Has $2.62 Million Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in Albemarle Corporation by 10% during Q2, holding a total of 41,844 shares valued at approximately $2.62 million.
• Albemarle reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.11, which exceeded analysts' estimates and had revenue of $1.33 billion, down 7% year-over-year.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.62, with a dividend yield of 2.0% scheduled for payment on October 1st.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 10.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,844 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,820 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ALB. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,836,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $110,814,000 after buying an additional 343,210 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 140.5% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 458,214 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $32,996,000 after buying an additional 267,659 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 106.4% in the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 415,111 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $29,896,000 after buying an additional 214,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 1,167,520 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $84,085,000 after buying an additional 173,441 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $80.45 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a PE ratio of -8.63 and a beta of 1.64. Albemarle Corporation has a 52 week low of $49.43 and a 52 week high of $113.91. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $77.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.94. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%.Albemarle's revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.04 earnings per share. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Albemarle from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. HSBC upped their target price on Albemarle from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $74.00 target price on Albemarle and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Albemarle from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $85.83.

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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