Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09), Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $10.32 earnings per share. Albemarle updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE ALB traded up $4.67 during trading on Thursday, reaching $123.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,881,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,207,400. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Albemarle has a 12 month low of $106.69 and a 12 month high of $247.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $122.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.65.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently 11.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ALB shares. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $191.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Albemarle from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.85.

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.