Stiles Financial Services Inc Has $220,000 Holdings in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Stiles Financial Services Inc lessened its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,516 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,569 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,966 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 1,414 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 1,153.5% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 52,135 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,755,000 after buying an additional 47,976 shares during the period. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth about $93,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Albemarle by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,595 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Polianta Ltd acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth about $993,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ALB. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Albemarle from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research raised Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock 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 research note on Tuesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.35.

Albemarle Trading Down 6.7%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $90.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.66 and a beta of 1.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.33. Albemarle Corporation has a 52 week low of $49.43 and a 52 week high of $113.91. 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 (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 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 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.04 EPS. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -17.38%.

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.