Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) – Stock analysts at Seaport Global Securities lifted their FY2018 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Albemarle in a research note issued on Thursday, August 9th. Seaport Global Securities analyst M. Harrison now anticipates that the specialty chemicals company will post earnings per share of $5.38 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $5.26. Seaport Global Securities also issued estimates for Albemarle’s Q4 2018 earnings at $1.51 EPS, Q1 2019 earnings at $1.50 EPS, Q2 2019 earnings at $1.62 EPS, Q3 2019 earnings at $1.52 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $1.74 EPS and FY2019 earnings at $6.37 EPS.
Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.08. Albemarle had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $853.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $799.49 million.
Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. TheStreet upgraded Albemarle from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 9th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $106.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 30th. Vertical Group upgraded Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “buy” rating and set a $113.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, April 17th. Finally, Nomura decreased their price target on Albemarle to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.78.
Albemarle opened at $98.50 on Monday, according to MarketBeat. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.19. Albemarle has a one year low of $86.75 and a one year high of $144.99. The company has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.65.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 14th will be paid a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently 29.19%.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Credit Agricole S A acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the second quarter valued at $123,000. Dupont Capital Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 81.6% in the first quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp now owns 1,358 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 145.4% in the first quarter. Point72 Asia Hong Kong Ltd now owns 1,669 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 989 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 145.9% in the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,692 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tiverton Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 53.5% in the first quarter. Tiverton Asset Management LLC now owns 1,997 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.59% of the company’s stock.