Albemarle Corporation $ALB Stock Position Increased by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 55.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 959,978 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 342,321 shares during the quarter. Albemarle comprises 0.9% of Vest Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.82% of Albemarle worth $60,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service lifted its position in Albemarle by 74.5% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 54.4% during the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 727 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $90.04 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $81.38 and its 200-day moving average is $69.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.66 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.47. Albemarle Corporation has a 12-month low of $49.43 and a 12-month high of $113.91.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.94. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. The business’s revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.04 EPS. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Baird R W downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $89.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.35.

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.