Albemarle (ALB) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

ALB

Albemarle (ALB - Free Report) closed at $217.15 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.16% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.1%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.89%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.03%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the specialty chemicals company had lost 2.46% over the past month. This has lagged the Basic Materials sector's gain of 6.99% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.81% in that time.

Albemarle will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be February 16, 2022. On that day, Albemarle is projected to report earnings of $0.96 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 17.95%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $884.18 million, up 0.57% from the year-ago period.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Albemarle. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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 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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 3.91% higher. Albemarle currently has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Investors should also note Albemarle's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 36.37. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 13.28.

Also, we should mention that ALB has a PEG ratio of 1.65. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Chemical - Diversified industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.14 as of yesterday's close.

The Chemical - Diversified industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 98, which puts it in the top 39% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks 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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