Albemarle Co. Forecasted to Earn Q3 2024 Earnings of $0.36 Per Share (NYSE:ALB)

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) – Stock analysts at Scotiabank issued their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for Albemarle in a report released on Tuesday, August 6th. Scotiabank analyst B. Isaacson forecasts that the specialty chemicals company will post earnings per share of $0.36 for the quarter. Scotiabank has a “Sector Perform” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Albemarle’s current full-year earnings is $1.67 per share. Scotiabank also issued estimates for Albemarle’s FY2024 earnings at $3.10 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $4.70 EPS.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a positive return on equity of 6.38%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.33 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on ALB. Hsbc Global Res raised Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Albemarle from $188.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Berenberg Bank downgraded Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $83.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.11.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of ALB stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $81.65. 2,165,826 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,089,660. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.16. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $79.00 and a 1-year high of $203.62. The company has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. 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 yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total value of $194,950.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,882.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.53, for a total transaction 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 approximately $921,875.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.17, for a total value of $194,950.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $626,882.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. USCF Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. USCF Advisers LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 2,942.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.