Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Albemarle beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $2.58 versus $2.53 consensus and revenue of $1.55 billion versus $1.52 billion expected.
• Shares rose 5.9% to $95.50 in Wednesday midday trading.
• Analyst views were mixed: MarketBeat’s consensus rating was “Hold,” with an average price target of $179.41. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, a 1.7% yield.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.05, FiscalAI reports. Albemarle had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion.

Albemarle Stock Up 5.9%

Shares of NYSE ALB traded up $5.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.50. 6,047,852 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,466,557. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.09. Albemarle has a 52-week low of $89.10 and a 52-week high of $221.00. The business's fifty day moving average price is $109.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.27 billion, a PE ratio of 353.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.34.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 18th. Albemarle's payout ratio is presently 607.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALB has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Albemarle from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Albemarle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Albemarle from $175.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Albemarle from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $179.41.

About Albemarle

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.

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