Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.49 EPS

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.49), Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a positive return on equity of 6.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.33 earnings per share. Albemarle updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Albemarle Stock Down 6.6 %

ALB traded down $6.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $86.99. The stock had a trading volume of 5,807,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,879,290. Albemarle has a one year low of $82.25 and a one year high of $214.99. The company has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $102.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently 58.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ALB shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $122.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $157.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albemarle news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $921,875.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total transaction of $194,950.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.