Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) to Post Q3 2024 Earnings of ($0.54) Per Share, KeyCorp Forecasts

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) – Equities researchers at KeyCorp issued their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for Albemarle in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, October 6th. KeyCorp analyst A. Yefremov anticipates that the specialty chemicals company will earn ($0.54) per share for the quarter. KeyCorp currently has a “Overweight” rating and a $132.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Albemarle’s current full-year earnings is $0.69 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Albemarle’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.43 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $0.19 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $5.07 EPS.

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

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Albemarle from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $137.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.60.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $100.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $87.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.46, a PEG ratio of 7.98 and a beta of 1.54. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $71.97 and a 52 week high of $177.52.

Albemarle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. This is a positive change from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. First Community Trust NA bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 610.0% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.