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

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) – Research analysts at Scotiabank decreased their FY2024 EPS estimates for Albemarle in a research note issued on Tuesday, May 21st. Scotiabank analyst B. Isaacson now anticipates that the specialty chemicals company will post earnings per share of $1.87 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $2.39. Scotiabank currently has a “Sector Perform” rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Albemarle’s current full-year earnings is $3.13 per share. Scotiabank also issued estimates for Albemarle’s FY2025 earnings at $7.14 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ALB. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. TD Cowen lowered shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $220.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $168.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $191.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $165.16.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $122.97 on Thursday. Albemarle has a 12 month low of $106.69 and a 12 month high of $247.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.45 billion, a PE ratio of 44.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.85.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.09). Albemarle had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.32 EPS. Albemarle’s revenue was down 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares in the company, valued at $921,875.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO John Clarence Barichivich III sold 1,475 shares of Albemarle 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $626,882.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark Richard Mummert sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $921,875.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.5% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 9,091 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,546,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.3% in the third quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 5,989 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.8% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 15,588 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,650,000 after buying an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 277.1% in the third quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 4,525 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 3,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 39.7% in the third quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 2,546 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by 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.