Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Purchased by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC significantly increased its stake in Albemarle Corporation by 140.5% during the 1st quarter, now owning 458,214 shares valued at approximately $32.99 million.
• Several institutional investors have also raised their positions, with 92.87% of the company's stock now owned by institutional investors.
• Albemarle recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.0%, with the payout scheduled for October 1st.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 140.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 458,214 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 267,659 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.39% of Albemarle worth $32,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 50,326 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,624,000 after acquiring an additional 4,872 shares in the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 243,036 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $17,503,000 after acquiring an additional 12,014 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth about $271,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Albemarle by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 184,426 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $13,282,000 after acquiring an additional 6,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at about $303,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Stock Down 3.7%

Albemarle stock traded down $3.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $84.42. The company had a trading volume of 1,515,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,544,217. The stock has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.04 and a beta of 1.63. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.43 and a 1 year 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 fifty day moving average of $72.68 and a 200 day moving average of $68.06.

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, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.94. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%.The firm's revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.04 earnings per share. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -17.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $62.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday. TD Securities reduced their price target on Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Baird R W lowered Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $86.00.

Albemarle 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.