Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 1,200 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 24,300 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $480,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,404,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,305,000 after purchasing an additional 692,188 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 109.7% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 57,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 29,849 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 40.1% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,054,000 after acquiring an additional 54,130 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 166.2% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 214,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,230,000 after acquiring an additional 133,715 shares during the period. Finally, Privium Fund Management UK Ltd bought a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,247,000. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of ACI opened at $18.86 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.46, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.22. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.80 and a twelve month high of $23.62.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.01). Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 56.01% and a net margin of 1.41%. The company had revenue of $24.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 21.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.25 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.