Q3 2018 Earnings Estimate for Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Issued By First Analysis

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) – Stock analysts at First Analysis cut their Q3 2018 earnings per share estimates for shares of Albemarle in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, August 21st, Zacks Investment Research reports. First Analysis analyst now forecasts that the specialty chemicals company will post earnings of $1.26 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.28.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $853.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $799.49 million. Albemarle had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 14.51%.

ALB has been the subject of several other research reports. SunTrust Banks upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 18th. Vertical Group upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 12th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 12th. Finally, ValuEngine lowered shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.97.
NYSE:ALB traded down $0.47 on Thursday, hitting $97.19. The stock had a trading volume of 1,280,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,315,431. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.19. The firm has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.69. Albemarle has a 1 year low of $86.75 and a 1 year high of $144.99.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Global X Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Global X Management Co. LLC now owns 1,622,819 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $150,500,000 after buying an additional 115,858 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 805,286 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $74,682,000 after purchasing an additional 144,241 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 215,528 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $19,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares during the period. Dupont Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 81.6% in the 1st quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp now owns 1,358 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthstreet Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 32.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealthstreet Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,125 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. 90.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

In related news, EVP Karen G. Narwold sold 3,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.11, for a total value of $301,041.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,936,800.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 14th will be issued a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.19%.