Versor Investments LP Purchases Shares of 3,921 Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP invested approximately $282,000 in Albemarle Corporation by acquiring 3,921 shares during the first quarter.
• Albemarle reported earnings of $0.11 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations despite a 7.0% decline in year-over-year revenue.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, which is set to be paid on October 1st, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.1%.

Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,921 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $282,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 74.5% during the 1st 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. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 84.1% during the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 670 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W lowered shares of Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $90.67.

Albemarle Stock Up 5.3%

NYSE:ALB traded up $4.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $85.87. 1,385,791 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,531,542. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $72.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.92. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $49.43 and a one year high of $113.91. The company has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of -9.20 and a beta of 1.63. 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 (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.94. Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 18.61%.The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.04 EPS. Albemarle's quarterly revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Albemarle's payout ratio is -17.38%.

Albemarle Company 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.