Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Stake Decreased by Denali Advisors LLC

Denali Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 41,786 shares of the company’s stock after selling 921 shares during the quarter. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its position in Albertsons Companies by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,196,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,138,000 after acquiring an additional 43,532 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 9.2% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,117,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,646,000 after purchasing an additional 94,300 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 5.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 670,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,395,000 after purchasing an additional 36,154 shares during the period. K2 Principal Fund L.P. grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 68.4% in the 3rd quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 270,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,999,000 after buying an additional 109,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,906,000. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of ACI opened at $20.69 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $20.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.51. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year high of $21.67.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.82 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.21.

Albertsons Companies 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.