Albemarle Corporation (ALB) to Distribute Quarterly Dividend of $0.41 on October 1st

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of 0.41 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Thursday, October 1st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This is a 1.2% increase from Albemarle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41.

Albemarle has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 30 years. Albemarle has a payout ratio of 216.0% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect Albemarle to earn $12.95 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 12.5%.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:ALB opened at $117.59 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $151.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.79. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $64.95 and a 1-year high of $221.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.48 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 5.00% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Albemarle will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $224.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.87.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company’s bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world’s foremost chemical producers.