Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases Shares of 52,052 Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 52,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,022,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in Albertsons Companies by 10.0% during 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 period. Finally, Private Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Albertsons Companies by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 69,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,280,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Albertsons Companies stock opened at $20.83 on Friday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year high of $21.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.51.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The firm had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.21.

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.