Quantbot Technologies LP Grows Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in Albemarle Corporation by 106.4%, acquiring an additional 92,175 shares, bringing its total to 178,788 shares valued at approximately $12.88 million.
• Several hedge funds have recently adjusted their positions in Albemarle, with Nuveen LLC purchasing a new position worth $26.83 million, and GAMMA Investing LLC significantly increasing its stake by over 6,393%.
• Albemarle reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with $1.33 billion in revenue, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, representing a yield of 2.0%.

Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 106.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 178,788 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 92,175 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP owned about 0.15% of Albemarle worth $12,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new position in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 74.5% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 84.1% in the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 670 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE ALB traded up $2.3570 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $81.2970. The stock had a trading volume of 2,875,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,158,478. The firm's 50 day moving average is $71.27 and its 200 day moving average is $67.96. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $113.91. 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 has a market capitalization of $9.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.72 and a beta of 1.63.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.94. The company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.04 EPS. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler set a $68.00 price objective on Albemarle and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Baird R W cut Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $76.00 price objective on Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $89.17.

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.