Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Takes $339,000 Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 17,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,196,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,138,000 after purchasing an additional 43,532 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,117,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,646,000 after acquiring an additional 94,300 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 5.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 670,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,395,000 after acquiring an additional 36,154 shares during the last quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 68.4% during the third quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 270,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,999,000 after acquiring an additional 109,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $433,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ACI. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.21.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Albertsons Companies stock opened at $21.05 on Friday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.00 and a 1 year high of $21.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $20.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.47. The company has a market cap of $12.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The firm had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. Albertsons Companies’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

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.