Can Albemarle Meet These Numbers?

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Albemarle (NYS: ALB) is expected to report Q2 earnings on July 17. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Albemarle's revenues will decrease 1.0% and EPS will compress 0.8%.

The average estimate for revenue is $734.4 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.22.


Revenue details
Last quarter, Albemarle recorded revenue of $711.7 million. GAAP reported sales were 2.2% higher than the prior-year quarter's $696.5 million.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, EPS came in at $1.20. GAAP EPS of $1.20 for Q1 were 4.3% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.15 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 34.8%, 130 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 19.7%, 70 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 15.2%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
The full year's average estimate for revenue is $2.96 billion. The average EPS estimate is $4.88.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 222 members out of 237 rating the stock outperform, and 15 members rating it underperform. Among 68 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 66 give Albemarle a green thumbs-up, and two give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Albemarle is outperform, with an average price target of $71.22.

At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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