ALB vs. IFF, RPM, NEU, CE, BCPC, SXT, FUL, ASH, IOSP, and KWR
Should you be buying Albemarle stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Albemarle include International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), RPM International (RPM), NewMarket (NEU), Celanese (CE), Balchem (BCPC), Sensient Technologies (SXT), H. B. Fuller (FUL), Ashland (ASH), Innospec (IOSP), and Quaker Houghton (KWR). These companies are all part of the "specialty chemicals" industry.
Albemarle vs. Its Competitors
Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) and International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, media sentiment, profitability, risk, earnings and dividends.
92.9% of Albemarle shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.0% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Albemarle shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
International Flavors & Fragrances has higher revenue and earnings than Albemarle. International Flavors & Fragrances is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Albemarle, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
In the previous week, International Flavors & Fragrances had 14 more articles in the media than Albemarle. MarketBeat recorded 19 mentions for International Flavors & Fragrances and 5 mentions for Albemarle. Albemarle's average media sentiment score of 1.33 beat International Flavors & Fragrances' score of 1.09 indicating that Albemarle is being referred to more favorably in the media.
Albemarle has a beta of 1.61, suggesting that its share price is 61% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, International Flavors & Fragrances has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Albemarle pays an annual dividend of $1.62 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. International Flavors & Fragrances pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Albemarle pays out -14.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. International Flavors & Fragrances pays out -48.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Albemarle has raised its dividend for 30 consecutive years. Albemarle is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
International Flavors & Fragrances has a net margin of -7.31% compared to Albemarle's net margin of -22.39%. International Flavors & Fragrances' return on equity of 7.99% beat Albemarle's return on equity.
Albemarle presently has a consensus target price of $91.62, indicating a potential upside of 45.87%. International Flavors & Fragrances has a consensus target price of $93.43, indicating a potential upside of 26.94%. Given Albemarle's higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Albemarle is more favorable than International Flavors & Fragrances.
Summary
International Flavors & Fragrances beats Albemarle on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.
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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time
This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding ALB and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
Media Sentiment Over Time
This chart shows the average media sentiment of NYSE and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
Albemarle Competitors List
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This page (NYSE:ALB) was last updated on 7/1/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff
