FY2024 EPS Estimates for Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Cut by Analyst

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) – Investment analysts at Scotiabank dropped their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Albemarle in a report issued on Monday, May 6th. Scotiabank analyst B. Isaacson now anticipates that the specialty chemicals company will post earnings of $2.39 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $2.45. Scotiabank currently has a “Sector Outperform” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Albemarle’s current full-year earnings is $2.86 per share.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced 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 the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $10.32 earnings per share.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on ALB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America raised shares of 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 report on Wednesday, April 10th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $178.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $138.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Vertical Research cut shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, March 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.05.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $131.62 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.47 billion, a PE ratio of 47.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.65. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $106.69 and a 52 week high of $247.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $123.51 and its 200-day moving average is $125.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.84.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALB. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 128.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,076,357 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,022,420,000 after buying an additional 3,979,885 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at about $377,341,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Albemarle by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,185,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $749,235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,667,164 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Albemarle by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,800,219 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $838,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 55.8% during the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,476,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $502,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245,719 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.18%.

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.