Albemarle (ALB) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) will be releasing its earnings data after the market closes on Wednesday, July 31st. Analysts expect Albemarle to post earnings of $0.74 per share for the quarter. Individual interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $10.32 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Albemarle to post $2 EPS for the current fiscal year and $4 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $91.71 on Tuesday. Albemarle has a 1 year low of $90.02 and a 1 year high of $215.82. The business’s fifty day moving average is $104.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is 58.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total value of $114,251.79. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total value of $114,251.79. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,875.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total value of $194,950.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Albemarle from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $145.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Albemarle from $159.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America raised Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Albemarle from $170.00 to $127.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.65.

About Albemarle

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.