Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,824,226 shares of the company’s stock after selling 319,792 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Albertsons Companies worth $754,957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 0.9% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 478,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,891,000 after buying an additional 4,277 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 605,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,766,000 after purchasing an additional 120,687 shares during the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. boosted its position in Albertsons Companies by 21.8% during the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 20.2% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 483,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,007,000 after purchasing an additional 81,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 32.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,096,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,704,000 after purchasing an additional 508,165 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE ACI opened at $19.56 on Friday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $19.47 and a one year high of $23.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.84. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.20. The company has a market cap of $11.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.50.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 68.02% and a net margin of 1.64%. The business had revenue of $18.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.40 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 21.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Robert Bruce Larson sold 24,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.24, for a total transaction of $493,086.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,016,877.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Robert Bruce Larson sold 24,362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.24, for a total transaction of $493,086.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 50,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,016,877.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anuj Dhanda sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total value of $2,035,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 365,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,433,793.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on ACI. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Roth Capital raised Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Roth Mkm raised Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $27.25 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.45.

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.