Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Buys 360 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,482 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,355 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $977,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 74.5% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 2.6% during the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 9,028 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $650,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 6.7% during the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 54.4% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 727 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho set a $76.00 price objective on Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. HSBC lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $85.83.

Albemarle Stock Up 3.6%

ALB stock opened at $87.49 on Friday. Albemarle Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.43 and a twelve month high of $113.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $10.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.39 and a beta of 1.65. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $79.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.77.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.04 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.