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

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ALB. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. National Pension Service increased its position 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 84.1% during the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 670 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $74.00 price target on shares of Albemarle and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $89.17.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:ALB traded up $0.7770 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $78.8970. 2,886,568 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,557,580. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $49.43 and a one year 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $70.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.98. The company has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a PE ratio of -8.47 and a beta of 1.63.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.04 earnings per share. Albemarle's quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio is currently -17.38%.

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.