KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Sells 16,171 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS reduced its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 40.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 16,171 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service boosted its stake 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $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 position in 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 during the period. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $96.20 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $81.93 and its 200 day moving average is $69.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.31. The company has a market capitalization of $11.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.32 and a beta of 1.65. Albemarle Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.43 and a fifty-two week 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.94. The company 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.04 EPS. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -17.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Thursday. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, August 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.