Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 21.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 387,766 shares of the company’s stock after selling 105,606 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $7,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 1,197 shares during the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 8.7% in the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 322,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,929,000 after acquiring an additional 25,868 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 12.1% in the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 23,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 2,549 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 42.8% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 47,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $879,000 after acquiring an additional 14,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 7.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,063,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,229,000 after purchasing an additional 592,711 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ACI. Melius Research upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. 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 price target on the stock. Melius upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.75.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of ACI opened at $19.52 on Monday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year high of $23.47. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $18.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.51.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

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

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.