Albemarle (ALB) Sees a More Significant Dip Than Broader Market: Some Facts to Know

Albemarle (ALB) ended the recent trading session at $158.22, demonstrating a -3.46% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.61%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.26%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 0.93%.

Heading into today, shares of the specialty chemicals company had gained 3.12% over the past month, outpacing the Basic Materials sector's loss of 3.27% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.25%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Albemarle in its upcoming release. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $0.78, indicating a 533.33% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $1.28 billion, indicating a 18.91% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $8.15 per share and a revenue of $5.58 billion, demonstrating changes of +1131.65% and +8.48%, respectively, from the preceding year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Albemarle should also be noted by investors. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 76.59% upward. Albemarle is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking at its valuation, Albemarle is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 20.11. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 16.91, which means Albemarle is trading at a premium to the group.

It is also worth noting that ALB currently has a PEG ratio of 1.26. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Chemical - Diversified industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.58 as of yesterday's close.

The Chemical - Diversified industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 194, placing it within the bottom 21% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.

Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"

From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.

This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.

Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners Up

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Albemarle Corporation (ALB): Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research