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Albemarle (ALB) ended the recent trading session at $120.50, demonstrating a -1.7% swing from the preceding day's closing price. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.2%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.65%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.79%.

Coming into today, shares of the specialty chemicals company had gained 0.36% in the past month. In that same time, the Basic Materials sector gained 1.63%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.85%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Albemarle in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on May 1, 2024. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $0.36, signifying a 96.51% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $1.45 billion, down 43.86% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $3.18 per share and a revenue of $5.75 billion, demonstrating changes of -85.71% and -40.23%, respectively, from the preceding year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Albemarle. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 5.48% lower. Albemarle is holding a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now.

In terms of valuation, Albemarle is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 38.54. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 18.37 for its industry.

Meanwhile, ALB's PEG ratio is currently 2.41. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Chemical - Diversified industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.11.

The Chemical - Diversified industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 193, placing it within the bottom 24% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.