Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.05, FiscalAI reports. Albemarle had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 3.09%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.19) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB stock traded up $2.30 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $97.27. 2,353,289 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,465,391. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.56. Albemarle has a 12 month low of $89.77 and a 12 month high of $221.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 360.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.34.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 18th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 607.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ALB. Zacks Research lowered shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Monday, October 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $109.00 price target on the stock. Argus decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $230.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Albemarle from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Fifteen 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, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.41.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) is a global specialty chemicals company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company develops, manufactures, and markets engineered chemicals used in energy storage, transportation, refining, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, consumer products, and other industrial applications.

Albemarle is one of the world’s major producers of lithium and supplies lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, for use in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid energy-storage systems.