Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.49 EPS

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49), Zacks reports. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 1.67% and a negative net margin of 28.80%.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock traded up $0.87 on Wednesday, reaching $76.57. 3,378,891 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,373,626. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $90.52 and its 200-day moving average is $92.59. The firm has a market cap of $9.00 billion, a PE ratio of -4.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.44. Albemarle has a one year low of $71.97 and a one year high of $143.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ALB. Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial began coverage on Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.95.

About Albemarle

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.