KeyCorp Issues Pessimistic Estimate for Albemarle Earnings

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) – Investment analysts at KeyCorp reduced their FY2025 EPS estimates for Albemarle in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday, April 13th. KeyCorp analyst A. Yefremov now anticipates that the specialty chemicals company will earn ($2.13) per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $5.07. KeyCorp has a “Overweight” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Albemarle’s current full-year earnings is ($0.04) per share.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Albemarle from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.05.

Albemarle Stock Down 2.6 %

ALB opened at $52.63 on Wednesday. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.77. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $49.43 and a 1-year high of $137.50. The stock has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a PE ratio of -4.70 and a beta of 1.59.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,594,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,256,294,000 after acquiring an additional 359,014 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,795,891 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $240,044,000 after purchasing an additional 53,985 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,990,762 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $171,365,000 after buying an additional 25,207 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,432,153 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $123,280,000 after acquiring an additional 8,243 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,290,797 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $111,112,000 after purchasing an additional 139,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.46%.

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.