UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Decreases Holdings in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• UBS AM has reduced its stake in Albemarle Corporation by 16.3%, now holding $45.73 million worth of shares after selling 123,860 shares in the first quarter.
• Albemarle Corporation reported $1.33 billion in revenue for its latest quarter, down 7.0% year-over-year, and exceeded earnings estimates with $0.11 EPS compared to a consensus of -$0.83.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.62 and a dividend yield of 2.1%.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC decreased its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 16.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 634,898 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 123,860 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned approximately 0.54% of Albemarle worth $45,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 4,820 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 12.3% during the 4th 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. Man Group plc boosted its position in Albemarle by 1,213.0% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 158,649 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $13,657,000 after acquiring an additional 146,566 shares during the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $149,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 47,909 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,124,000 after buying an additional 10,663 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB traded up $0.91 during trading on Friday, hitting $81.84. The company had a trading volume of 3,672,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,641,829. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.31. Albemarle Corporation has a 12 month low of $49.43 and a 12 month high of $113.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.78 and a beta of 1.65.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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 company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.04 EPS. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Albemarle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -17.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Albemarle from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group raised Albemarle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Albemarle from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Baird R W cut Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.