Albemarle Co. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.41 (NYSE:ALB)

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 27th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.405 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th.

Albemarle has increased its dividend by an average of 1.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 30 consecutive years. Albemarle has a payout ratio of 77.9% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Analysts expect Albemarle to earn $1.91 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.62 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 84.8%.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $77.03 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a PE ratio of -6.88 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $85.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.02. Albemarle has a 12-month low of $71.97 and a 12-month high of $143.19.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Albemarle will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.68.

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.