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

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49), Zacks reports. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 28.80% and a positive return on equity of 1.67%.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $79.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.73, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.58. Albemarle has a one year low of $71.97 and a one year high of $143.19. The business has a fifty day moving average of $89.56 and a 200 day moving average of $92.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ALB shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial started coverage on Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “hold” rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho reduced their price target on Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Clarkson Capital began coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.14.

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.