Gabelli Funds LLC Decreases Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Gabelli Funds LLC cut its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 856,778 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,500 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned 0.15% of Albertsons Companies worth $18,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 255.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter worth $62,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 133.3% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 4,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 167.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 3,795 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Albertsons Companies

In related news, insider Anuj Dhanda sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total value of $2,035,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 365,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,433,793.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Robert Bruce Larson sold 24,362 shares of Albertsons Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.24, for a total transaction of $493,086.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,241 shares in the company, valued at $1,016,877.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anuj Dhanda sold 100,000 shares of Albertsons Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total value of $2,035,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 365,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,433,793.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ACI shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Roth Capital raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Roth Mkm raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $27.25 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.45.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

NYSE ACI traded up $0.19 on Friday, reaching $20.45. 2,529,420 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,719,354. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $19.33 and a one year high of $23.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.84 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $24.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.16 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 56.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. Analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.52%.

Albertsons Companies Company Profile

Albertsons Companies, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of food and drug stores in the United States. The company's food and drug retail stores offer grocery products, general merchandise, health and beauty care products, pharmacy, fuel, and other items and services. It also manufactures and processes food products for sale in stores.