(ALB) - Albemarle Corporation - company topped analysts' earnings expectations by an average margin of 24.4% during the past three quarters

Albemarle Corporation (ALB) topped the Street's earnings estimate in eight of the past nine quarters. Earnings per share are projected to grow 13% over the next 3-5 years, compared to a 10% forecasted growth rate for the industry. The company is currently yielding 1.3% and has a five-year average dividend yield of 1.9%. Full Analysis Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures and markets specialty chemicals worldwide. The company operates in three segments: polymer additives, catalysts and fine chemicals. ALB sells its products to a range of customers, including manufacturers of electronics, building and construction materials, automotive parts, packaging, pharmachemicals and agrichemicals and petroleum refiners. The past three quarters at ALB have been extremely impressive. During this period of time, the company topped analysts' earnings expectations by an average margin of 24.4%. Furthermore, ALB topped the Street's estimate in eight of the past nine quarters. Earnings per share grew 9.4% over the past five years and are projected to grow by a greater rate going forward-12.7% over the next 3-5 years. The growth rate of the industry is forecasted to be 10%. On Jul 24, 2006, ALB surprised to the upside by an impressive 29.0% when the company reported record second-quarter profits of $43.3 million, or 89 cents per share. Net sales amounted to $569 million, up $66 million, or 13.1%, compared to the prior-year period. All three business segments produced improved earnings and margins. For the first six months of 2006, profits ballooned 37.8% to $77.7 million, while net sales came in at $1.176 billion, up $163 million from the first half of 2005. President and CEO Mark C. Rohr stated, "We expect demand and pricing for our products to remain robust in the second half of the year." Due to growing demand from Asia, ALB announced last month that it will build a new plant in China to produce flame retardants. The plant is expected to be in operation by the second half of 2007. While the products will be sold worldwide, a majority will be targeted towards Asia's electronics and construction industries. The consensus estimate for 2006 currently sits at $2.87 per share. When compared to the consensus of 90 days ago, analysts upped their estimates by 4.0%. Profit forecasts for 2007 call for $3.31 per share-representing a 4.4% increase over the same period of time. The company is currently yielding 1.3% and has a five-year average dividend yield of 1.9%. ALB's return on equity is slightly higher than that of the industry average-13% compared to 12%. Note: The Zacks Rank is a very sensitive indicator that can change frequently for an individual stock. This important indicator is updated daily on Zacks.com and is available to Zacks Premium subscribers. As such, it is prudent to check the site for the latest Zacks Rank on the stocks highlighted in this section. Simply click the link for the stock or enter the symbol in the ticker entry box in the upper left hand corner of the web site. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. Blog Home