5 undervalued U.S. lithium stocks to buy immediately for long-term returns

Lithium is to electric vehicles as data centres is to artificial intelligence.

The price of Lithium may have gained a bit in recent weeks but it’s still down significantly from its high in mid-2023. Having said that, here is our list of the top five undervalued U.S. lithium stocks to buy for long-term returns.

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB)

Albemarle has been cut in half over the past 10 months which makes it “materially undervalued” as per Morningstar. The financial services firm is confident that $ALB will benefit from a continued recovery in lithium prices.

In fact, its $275 price objective on the New York listed firm signals potential for its stock to well over double from here.

Albemarle makes up to our list of top undervalued U.S. lithium stocks to buy in April also because China is expected to deliver a 20.4% annual increase in lithium demand through 2032 versus an increase in supply of just 6.0%.   

Note that $ALB sits right at the heart of “electrification of everything” – and not just EVs. So, it can drive demand from other sectors while the electric vehicles space picks up again.

Atlas Lithium Corp (NASDAQ: ATLX)

Atlas is a great pick in U.S. lithium stocks particularly if you’re somewhat restricted in terms of capital. The $200 million company based out of Florida has sufficient funds to support production in 2024.

$ATLX is committed to hit 150,000 tonnes per annum production in the final quarter of this year. But what makes this stock even more attractive are expectations that its production will double to 300,000 tpa by mid next year.

The Nasdaq-listed firm recently announced to have secured funding from Mitsui & Co as well.

Atlas Lithium Corp is particularly worth owning at writing because it has recently partnered with BYD and Tesla suppliers but its stock has not responded to the good news so far. $ATLX does not, however, pay a dividend yield for now.

Piedmont Lithium (NASDAQ: PLL)

Piedmont is on our list of top undervalued U.S. lithium stocks for long-term returns because it sits right at the heart of the EV supply chain in the United States.

$PLL is worth an investment in 2024 for an impressive gross profit margin that came in above 50% in its latest reported quarter.

Cash and equivalents of over $70 million and more than $25 million of quarterly net income spells financial stability for this company based out of North Carolina, United States.

Other exciting reasons to own Piedmont stock include a partnership with Sayona Mining, a near 20% stake in Vinland Lithium, and approval for a mining permit in Gatson County that it secured this week as Invezz reported here.  

Lithium Americas Corp (NYSE: LAC)

Lithium Americas Corp is an undervalued U.S. lithium stock following a 25% decline year-to-date part of which materialised after it announced pricing of a public offering this week.

$LAC has low-cost, high-quality assets not just in the United States but in Argentina as well. That split minimises the exposure for its investors to geopolitical risks as well.

Lithium Americas is all the more attractive now that General Motors has pledged $650 million to it in investment. The legacy automaker signed a supply agreement with the New York listed firm last year as well.  

Note that $LAC is unlikely to kick off production until 2026 but its Thacker Pass asset has the potential to bring in $1.1 billion in EBITDA on average on an annual basis.

EnerSys (NYSE: ENS)

EnerSys makes it to our list of undervalued U.S. lithium stocks to buy immediately for two somewhat different reasons.

First, it currently has a market cap of under $4.0 billion which makes it suitable for a potential takeover. Second, it does pay a dividend yield of nearly 1.0% at writing which isn’t much but is still better than nothing as is the case with the majority of other names on this list.

It is worth mentioning here that EnerSys is not a pure-play lithium stock. But the diversity of its business model makes it all the more attractive as an investment in general since it limits the risks related to lithium price volatility.

$ENS is scheduled to report its quarterly financial results next month. Consensus is for it to earn $2.02 a share – much higher than $1.82 per share a year ago.