Versor Investments LP Invests $282,000 in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

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

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,657 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,414,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,355 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $977,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 74.5% in the first 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. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.6% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 9,028 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $650,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 6.7% in the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $78.8970 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.97. The company has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.47 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $49.43 and a 12-month 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 business had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 18.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.04 EPS. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -17.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Piper Sandler set a $68.00 target price on shares of Albemarle and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Scotiabank boosted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $89.17.

Albemarle 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.