Albemarle Corporation $ALB Shares Acquired by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) by 7,328.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 410,874 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 405,343 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A. owned 0.35% of Albemarle worth $43,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 161.8% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 49,412 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,672,000 after purchasing an additional 30,541 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,246,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at $23,328,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,145,000. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,012,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ALB. Zacks Research lowered Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays cut their target price on Albemarle from $109.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Citigroup cut their target price on Albemarle from $175.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.64.

Key Stories Impacting Albemarle

Here are the key news stories impacting Albemarle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Albemarle reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.58 per share, ahead of estimates, on $1.55 billion in revenue—also above forecasts and up 18.8% year over year. Higher lithium pricing, strong demand, cost reductions and improved Specialties profits supported the results. Albemarle Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Cost Discipline and Lithium Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank maintained its “Sector Outperform” rating and $190 price target, estimating EPS of $11.64 for FY2026 and $14.15 for FY2027—above the cited current-year consensus estimate. Albemarle analyst coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Truist reaffirmed its “buy” rating, though it lowered its price target to $170 from $185. Truist rating information
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC cut its target to $119 from $129 but retained an “outperform” rating, reflecting a more cautious valuation alongside continued optimism about the shares. RBC rating information
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays lowered its target to $95 from $109 and kept an “equal weight” rating, pointing to a less favorable near-term risk-reward view. Lithium prices remain volatile, a potential source of uncertainty for earnings. Barclays rating information

Albemarle Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $99.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.69 billion, a PE ratio of 23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $107.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.87. Albemarle Corporation has a 1 year low of $89.77 and a 1 year high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.19) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Corporation will post 11.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 18th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 18th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 39.61%.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation is a specialty chemicals company that produces lithium, bromine and refining catalysts. Its products serve industries including energy storage, transportation, electronics, petroleum refining and pharmaceuticals.

The company supplies lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries and other applications. It also makes bromine-based products for uses such as flame retardants and water treatment, along with catalysts used in refining petroleum.

Albemarle traces its history to 1887 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.