Is Albemarle Corp. overvalued or undervalued?

As of 31 July 2024, Albemarle Corp. has moved from an expensive to a risky valuation grade. The company is currently considered overvalued. Key ratios include a P/E ratio of 7040, an EV to EBITDA of 56.37, and a Price to Book Value of 0.70. In comparison, peers such as Westlake Corp. and Avantor, Inc. have P/E ratios of 20.43 and 11.53, respectively, indicating that Albemarle's valuation is significantly higher than its industry counterparts.
Furthermore, Albemarle's recent performance has been underwhelming, with a year-to-date return of -32.83%, contrasting sharply with the S&P 500's gain of 2.44% over the same period. The company's negative ROCE of -3.92% and stagnant ROE of 0.00% further highlight its struggles, reinforcing the assessment that it is overvalued in the current market environment.