Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.41

Key Points

• Albemarle declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share payable July 1 to shareholders of record June 12, implying a ~0.8% yield; the company has raised its dividend for 30 consecutive years but currently shows a 216% payout ratio, indicating dividends aren’t covered by current earnings.
• In the latest quarter Albemarle missed EPS estimates (reported -$0.53 vs. -$0.40 consensus) while revenue rose 15.9% to $1.43 billion, and Wall Street’s consensus is a "Hold" with a $183 target even as analysts forecast roughly $9.59 EPS next year (which would materially lower the payout ratio).

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of 0.405 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th.

Albemarle has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 30 years. Albemarle has a dividend payout ratio of 216.0% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect Albemarle to earn $9.59 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 16.9%.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $194.99 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $53.70 and a twelve month high of $215.71. The company has a market cap of $22.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.97.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.Albemarle's quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.09) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 8.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Albemarle from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Albemarle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $183.00.

Albemarle Company Profile

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.

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