Rodgers Brothers Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Rodgers Brothers Inc. reduced its position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 67,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,600 shares during the quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc.’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $1,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 108.4% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 225.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 316.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 91.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 8,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 4,101 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $179,000. 71.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Shares of ACI stock opened at $21.61 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $22.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.65.

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

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.71%.

About Albertsons Companies

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.