Griffin Asset Management Inc. Has $1.43 Million Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,142 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 265 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ALB. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at $32,000. First Community Trust NA bought a new position in Albemarle in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 610.0% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $95.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $88.68 and a 200-day moving average of $103.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.25 billion, a PE ratio of 34.81, a PEG ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $71.97 and a 12 month high of $172.09.

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). The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Albemarle had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a positive return on equity of 6.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.60.

About Albemarle

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.