Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Acquired by Leibman Financial Services Inc.

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 shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 14.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,237 shares during the period. Albemarle makes up approximately 2.4% of Leibman Financial Services Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. 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 and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 317,963 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $27,370,000 after purchasing an additional 34,800 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,657 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,414,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $878,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 293,385 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $25,255,000 after acquiring an additional 81,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 758,758 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $65,314,000 after acquiring an additional 58,338 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:ALB traded up $0.79 on Thursday, hitting $80.95. 2,217,535 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,675,317. The stock has a market cap of $9.53 billion, a PE ratio of -8.69 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $77.57 and a 200-day moving average of $68.16. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week high of $113.91.

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, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.94. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.04 earnings per share. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -17.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upgraded Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Albemarle from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Albemarle from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $74.00 target price on Albemarle and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Mizuho set a $76.00 target price on Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Three investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $86.47.

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.