Stiles Financial Services Inc Sells 2,569 Shares of Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Stiles Financial Services Inc lowered its stake in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 42.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,516 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,569 shares during the quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. National Pension Service lifted 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 worth $33,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 84.1% during the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 670 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted 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 worth $52,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Down 6.7%

Shares of ALB stock opened at $90.04 on Friday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $81.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.33. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $49.43 and a one year high of $113.91. The stock has a market cap of $10.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.66 and a beta of 1.65.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Albemarle has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -17.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Albemarle from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Albemarle in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank raised their target price on Albemarle from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $74.00 target price on Albemarle and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.35.

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.