Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Albemarle Corporation $ALB

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 31.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,088,523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 508,194 shares during the period. Albemarle makes up about 2.0% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $154,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,163 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in Albemarle by 2.8% in the third quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 3,332 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,402 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 18.2% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 677 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALB has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $230.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $145.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price target on Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $189.04.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $203.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -59.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.07. Albemarle Corporation has a one year low of $53.70 and a one year high of $221.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $179.56 and its 200 day moving average is $154.41.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Albemarle Corporation will post 8.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -47.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 11,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $2,012,654.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,995,808.68. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Albemarle News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Albemarle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target on Albemarle to $225 from $210, suggesting further upside potential even though the rating remained neutral. Benzinga report on Citigroup target hike
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts increased price targets this week, including Wells Fargo, Robert W. Baird, and Mizuho, signaling improving sentiment toward Albemarle’s outlook. Tickerreport.com
• Positive Sentiment: Albemarle beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $2.95 versus $1.24 expected, while revenue also topped forecasts, driven by stronger lithium pricing and volumes. Zacks value-stock article
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage around the earnings call highlighted strong momentum, reinforcing the view that Albemarle’s operating trends improved meaningfully in the quarter. TipRanks earnings call summary
• Neutral Sentiment: One article compared Albemarle with LyondellBasell from a value-investing perspective, but it was more of a relative valuation discussion than a direct catalyst. Zacks comparison article

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company’s bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world’s foremost chemical producers.