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

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.33 EPS. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Albemarle updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.5 %

Albemarle stock traded down $0.50 during mid-day 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. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.94. Albemarle has a 12 month low of $90.02 and a 12 month high of $214.99. The company has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.84.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Albemarle from $122.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Albemarle from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Hsbc Global Res raised Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Albemarle from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.