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Here's How Much a $1000 Investment in Albemarle Made 10 Years Ago Would Be Worth Today

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How much a stock's price changes over time is a significant driver for most investors. Not only can price performance impact your portfolio, but it can help you compare investment results across sectors and industries as well.

The fear of missing out, or FOMO, also plays a factor in investing, especially with particular tech giants, as well as popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you'd invested in Albemarle (ALB - Free Report) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to ALB for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

Albemarle's Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let's take a look at Albemarle's main business drivers.

Charlotte, NC-based Albemarle Corporation is a premier specialty chemicals company with leading positions in attractive end markets globally. It is a leading producer of highly-engineered specialty chemicals geared to meet customer requirements across a bevy of end markets including petroleum refining, consumer electronics, energy storage, construction and automotive.

Albemarle, in January 2015, completed its acquisition of Rockwood Holdings, Inc for $5.7 billion. Rockwood became a fully-owned subsidiary of Albemarle following the deal closure.

The company’s former Performance Chemicals segment was split in 2016 into two separate segments, Lithium and Advanced Materials and Bromine Specialties. This led to the creation of three reportable segments – Lithium and Advanced Materials, Bromine Specialties and Refining Solutions.

Albemarle, in April 2018, completed the sale of its polyolefin catalysts and components business to W. R. Grace & Co. (GRA). Per the terms of the deal, the curatives and organometallics portions of the Performance Catalysts Solutions (PCS) business remain with Albemarle.

The company realigned its reportable segments following this divestment, effective first-quarter 2018. The PCS business has been merged with the Refining Solutions segment to form a new segment called Catalysts. As such, the company now has three reportable segments – Lithium, Bromine Specialties and Catalysts.

The Lithium unit is a low-cost producer of one of the most diverse portfolios of lithium derivatives in the industry. The segment develops lithium materials (including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide) for a vast range of end-use markets.

The company’s bromine business includes products used in fire safety solutions and other specialty chemicals applications.

The Catalysts unit includes product lines such as clean fuels technologies (CFT), FCC catalysts and additives and performance catalystsolutions (PCS).

Albemarle recorded sales of $3,128.9 million in 2020 with Lithium, Bromine Specialties and Catalysts segments accounting 37%, 31%, 26%, respectively. Its other businesses represented the balance 6% of sales.
 

Bottom Line

Putting together a successful investment portfolio takes a combination of research, patience, and a little bit of risk. For Albemarle, if you bought shares a decade ago, you're likely feeling really good about your investment today.

A $1000 investment made in February 2012 would be worth $3,730.34, or a 273.03% gain, as of February 16, 2022, according to our calculations. Investors should note that this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.

The S&P 500 rose 232.86% and the price of gold increased 3.02% over the same time frame in comparison.

Going forward, analysts are expecting more upside for ALB.

Earnings estimates for Albemarle for the fourth quarter have been stable over the past month. The company should gain from long-term growth in the battery-grade lithium market. It is expected to benefit from its actions to boost its global lithium derivative capacity. Albemarle remains on track with its La Negra III and IV projects. The company also remains focused on executing its cost-reduction program. Its cost saving actions are also expected to support margins. The company should also benefit from the synergies of the Rockwood acquisition. The buyout has provided it a complimentary product portfolio. Albemarle also remains committed to boost shareholder returns leveraging strong cash flows. The company remains committed to maintain its dividend payout. Albemarle has also outperformed the industry over the past year.

 

Over the past four weeks, shares have rallied 6.67%, and there have been 3 higher earnings estimate revisions in the past two months for fiscal 2021 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.

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