Allstate Corp Increases Stake in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Allstate Corp boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 110.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,459 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,910 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in Albemarle were worth $537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Albemarle by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,672,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,056,697,000 after acquiring an additional 77,773 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,990,762 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $171,365,000 after acquiring an additional 25,207 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Albemarle by 28.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,706 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $110,814,000 after acquiring an additional 343,210 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Albemarle by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,290,797 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $111,112,000 after acquiring an additional 139,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 17.4% during the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 1,167,520 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $84,085,000 after acquiring an additional 173,441 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of ALB opened at $81.30 on Tuesday. 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 one year low of $49.43 and a one year high of $113.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.72 and a beta of 1.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $71.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.83.

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Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.04 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Albemarle's payout ratio is presently -17.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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Several research analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. Baird R W cut Albemarle from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Securities cut their price objective on Albemarle from $115.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $89.17.

Read Our Latest Analysis on ALB

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.

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