Equities research analysts expect that Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) will post earnings per share of $1.28 for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks reports. Five analysts have issued estimates for Albemarle’s earnings, with the lowest EPS estimate coming in at $1.19 and the highest estimate coming in at $1.39. Albemarle reported earnings of $1.13 per share in the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year-over-year growth rate of 13.3%. The firm is scheduled to announce its next quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Tuesday, August 7th.
On average, analysts expect that Albemarle will report full year earnings of $5.25 per share for the current financial year, with EPS estimates ranging from $5.15 to $5.35. For the next year, analysts anticipate that the firm will report earnings of $5.93 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $5.41 to $6.30. Zacks’ EPS calculations are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side research firms that follow Albemarle.
Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.10. Albemarle had a net margin of 4.27% and a return on equity of 13.80%. The company had revenue of $821.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $798.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. Albemarle’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis.
A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 18th. Vertical Group upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 12th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $113.00 target price on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, April 17th. Finally, ValuEngine downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.79.
ALB stock opened at $93.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.48. Albemarle has a 52 week low of $86.75 and a 52 week high of $144.99. The stock has a market cap of $10.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.61.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 14th will be given a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.19%.
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 1,220.5% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,617,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $246,894,000 after acquiring an additional 2,419,144 shares in the last quarter. Carmignac Gestion purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the first quarter worth approximately $113,591,000. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 43.6% in the first quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 1,985,826 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $184,166,000 after acquiring an additional 602,784 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 334.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 741,798 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $68,795,000 after acquiring an additional 570,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 5.0% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,462,171 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $784,785,000 after acquiring an additional 400,323 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
