WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Buys 18,239 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 36.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 68,565 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 18,239 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Albemarle worth $4,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 74.5% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 84.1% in the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 670 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 54.4% in the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 727 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $98.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The company has a 50-day moving average of $83.11 and a 200 day moving average of $69.80. The firm has a market cap of $11.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.54 and a beta of 1.65. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.43 and a 1 year high of $113.91.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.04 EPS. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -17.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ALB. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $89.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.32.

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.