Albemarle (ALB) closed at $173.78 in the latest trading session, marking a -2.12% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.26% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.25%.
Heading into today, shares of the specialty chemicals company had gained 31.8% over the past month, outpacing the Basic Materials sector's gain of 8.62% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.57%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Albemarle in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on February 11, 2026. The company is expected to report EPS of -$0.62, up 43.12% from the prior-year quarter. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $1.37 billion, indicating a 11.18% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of -$1.1 per share and a revenue of $5.08 billion, indicating changes of +52.99% and 0%, respectively, from the former year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Albemarle. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. 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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 36.45% higher. Albemarle is currently a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
From a valuation perspective, Albemarle is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 108.44. This denotes a premium relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 16.38.
One should further note that ALB currently holds a PEG ratio of 6.78. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Chemical - Diversified industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.69 as of yesterday's close.
The Chemical - Diversified industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 217, putting it in the bottom 12% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming 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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