Albemarle Corporation (ALB) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 13th

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.405 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th.

Albemarle has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 30 years. Albemarle has a payout ratio of 216.0% meaning 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 $1.91 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 84.8%.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:ALB opened at $166.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.23. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $49.43 and a 52 week high of $206.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $169.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.26. The company has a market capitalization of $19.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.43.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted 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). Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 0.41% and a negative net margin of 10.74%.The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.09) EPS. Albemarle’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Albemarle will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 48.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 25,361 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,587,000 after purchasing an additional 8,332 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 230,690 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,655,000 after purchasing an additional 74,202 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Sankala Group LLC bought a new position in Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth about $580,000. Finally, Amanah Holdings Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,094,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.