State Street Corp Grows Stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

State Street Corp boosted its position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,615,413 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 141,933 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned about 1.49% of Albertsons Companies worth $159,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 108.4% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 2,948.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,801 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 2,243.9% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 8,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 8,594 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of ACI opened at $19.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.39. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $23.47.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 49.50% and a net margin of 1.25%. The company had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ACI shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Melius upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.09.

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.