Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.41 Per Share

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of 0.41 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Thursday, October 1st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This is a 1.2% increase from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41.

Albemarle has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 30 consecutive years. Albemarle has a payout ratio of 216.0% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Analysts expect Albemarle to earn $12.84 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.62 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.6%.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $118.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.98 billion, a PE ratio of -34.77 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $152.87 and a 200-day moving average of $167.96. Albemarle has a 52-week low of $64.95 and a 52-week high of $221.00.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post 12.95 EPS for the current year.

About Albemarle

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.