Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Posts Earnings Results

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. The firm’s revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $10.32 earnings per share. Albemarle updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Albemarle Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of Albemarle stock traded up $4.94 during trading on Thursday, hitting $123.94. 2,009,758 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,208,599. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.65. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $106.69 and a 1-year high of $247.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $122.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently 11.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ALB. Wolfe Research began coverage on Albemarle in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Vertical Research cut Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on Albemarle from $191.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.85.

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.