Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Issues Q4 Earnings Guidance

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB – Get Rating) updated its fourth quarter earnings guidance on Monday. The company provided EPS guidance of $8.35-8.75 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $7.63. The company issued revenue guidance of $2.59-2.65 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.61 billion. Albemarle also updated its FY 2022 guidance to $21.65-$22.05 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Berenberg Bank downgraded Albemarle from a buy rating to a hold rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 13th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $262.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a buy rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a report on Friday, September 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of Albemarle in a report on Wednesday, October 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Albemarle from $371.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $287.47.

Albemarle Stock Up 4.9 %

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $260.64 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $248.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $258.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $169.93 and a twelve month high of $334.55. The stock has a market cap of $30.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.45.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $7.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.66. Albemarle had a net margin of 27.77% and a return on equity of 26.84%. The firm had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 151.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 20.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, insider Eric Norris sold 2,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.80, for a total value of $735,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,790,599.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Albemarle news, insider Eric Norris sold 2,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.80, for a total value of $735,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,790,599.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Karen G. Narwold sold 9,072 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.26, for a total transaction of $2,923,542.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,741,465.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,681 shares of company stock valued at $5,310,662 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albemarle

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 51.2% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 130 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 49.2% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 267 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth about $95,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the first quarter worth about $117,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 9.1% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 792 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.24% of the company’s stock.

About Albemarle

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Albemarle Corp. engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop production, food-safety, and custom chemistry services. It operates through the following segments: Lithium, Bromine, Catalysts, and All Other.