GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 40.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,634 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,863 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 9,108.7% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 574,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,440,000 after purchasing an additional 568,563 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in Albemarle by 17.3% in the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 26,400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,500,000 after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Albemarle by 29.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 23,813 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,287,000 after purchasing an additional 5,431 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Albemarle by 117.0% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,182 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 2,255 shares during the period. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 61.9% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $93.51 on Monday. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $71.97 and a 12-month high of $153.54. The company has a market capitalization of $10.99 billion, a PE ratio of 34.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $91.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.59.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a positive return on equity of 6.38%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 39.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ALB. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.30.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.