GAMMA Investing LLC Has $368,000 Stake in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Albemarle Corporation by 177.8%, bringing its total holdings to 5,878 shares valued at $368,000.
• Albemarle's stock was recently rated with a mixed outlook, as three analysts issued a Buy rating while others maintained Hold or Sell ratings, with a consensus average target price of $85.83.
• The company reported earnings per share of $0.11 last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, though revenue dropped 7.0% year-over-year.

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 177.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,878 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 3,762 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Albemarle were worth $368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 10.0% during the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 41,844 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,622,000 after buying an additional 3,820 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 33.9% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,723 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 452.2% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 1,361 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 54.5% during the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 10,737 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $673,000 after buying an additional 3,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 14.2% during the second quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 25,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,606,000 after buying an additional 3,195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ALB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. UBS Group raised shares of Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $62.00 to $89.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $85.83.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $88.08 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.43 and a 52-week high of $113.91. The stock has a market cap of $10.37 billion, a PE ratio of -9.45 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.31. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $78.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.50.

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

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.