4,081 Shares in Albemarle Corporation $ALB Purchased by Quantitative Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Quantitative Investment Management LLC purchased 4,081 shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) in the first quarter, valued at approximately $293,000.
• Albemarle announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, with a yield of 2.0%, to be paid on October 1st.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed forecasts for Albemarle, with price targets ranging from $62.00 to $115.00, leading to a consensus rating of "Reduce."

Quantitative Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,081 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $293,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in Albemarle by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,657 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,414,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,355 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $977,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its stake in Albemarle by 74.5% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in Albemarle by 2.6% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 9,028 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $650,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 6.7% in the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,782 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $84.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,731,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,097,177. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $49.43 and a one year high of $113.91. The firm has a market cap of $9.99 billion, a PE ratio of -9.11 and a beta of 1.64. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $73.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.05.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.04 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -17.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ALB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average 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.