In the latest trading session, Albemarle (ALB) closed at $146.13, marking a +1.53% move from the previous day. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.64%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.23%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.69%.
The stock of specialty chemicals company has risen by 14.97% in the past month, leading the Basic Materials sector's gain of 5.72% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.55%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Albemarle in its upcoming earnings disclosure. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of -$0.61, marking a 44.04% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $1.37 billion, indicating a 11.18% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of -$1.09 per share and a revenue of $5.08 billion, demonstrating changes of +53.42% and 0%, respectively, from the preceding year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Albemarle. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 35.61% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Currently, Albemarle is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at valuation, Albemarle is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 113.16. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 15.18, which means Albemarle is trading at a premium to the group.
We can also see that ALB currently has a PEG ratio of 7.07. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Chemical - Diversified was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.44 at yesterday's closing price.
The Chemical - Diversified industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 228, finds itself in the bottom 7% echelons of all 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.
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Albemarle Corporation (ALB): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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