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

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.49), Briefing.com reports. Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.33 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Albemarle updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $93.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,712,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,054,959. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $90.02 and a 52 week high of $214.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $102.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.79. The stock has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a PE ratio of 33.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.57.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This is a boost from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently 58.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho cut their price target on Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a report on Wednesday. HSBC downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Albemarle from $170.00 to $127.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Albemarle from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $145.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $139.10.

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.