Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC Raises Stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 225.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,385 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 959 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $27,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ACI. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 108.4% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 76.8% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,816 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $179,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the third quarter valued at about $185,000. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the third quarter valued at about $199,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of ACI opened at $20.43 on Tuesday. 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 cap of $11.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $20.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.43. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $21.75.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is currently 33.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.