Leibman Financial Services Inc. Boosts Stake in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Leibman Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Albemarle Corporation by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter, now owning 48,871 shares valued at approximately $3.06 million, making it the company's 22nd biggest position.
• Multiple brokerages have recently adjusted their price targets for Albemarle, with Deutsche Bank setting a target at $74.00 and UBS raising its target from $62.00 to $89.00.
• Albemarle reported quarterly earnings of $0.11 per share, surpassing consensus estimates, although its revenue was down 7.0% year-over-year, totaling $1.33 billion.

Leibman Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 14.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,237 shares during the quarter. Albemarle comprises approximately 2.4% of Leibman Financial Services Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Leibman Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter worth about $26,836,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in 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 worth $110,814,000 after buying an additional 343,210 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 140.5% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 458,214 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $32,996,000 after buying an additional 267,659 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 106.4% during the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 415,111 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $29,896,000 after purchasing an additional 214,012 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 17.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 173,441 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.1%

Albemarle stock traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $81.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,672,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,641,829. Albemarle Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.43 and a 52-week high of $113.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.78 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $77.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.18.

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, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.94. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business 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 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.0%. Albemarle's payout ratio is currently -17.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Albemarle from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Mizuho set a $76.00 price objective on Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, August 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $86.47.

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.