Murchinson Ltd. Sells 343,264 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Murchinson Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 50.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 343,264 shares of the company’s stock after selling 343,264 shares during the quarter. Albertsons Companies makes up 1.2% of Murchinson Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Murchinson Ltd.’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $6,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ACI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 40.4% in the 4th 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. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 631,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,525,000 after buying an additional 301,894 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Albertsons Companies by 58.1% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 70,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,628,000 after buying an additional 26,006 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in Albertsons Companies by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 190,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,385,000 after buying an additional 7,687 shares during the period. Finally, Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 19,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ACI. Melius Research started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.25 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.54.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACI opened at $18.53 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.66 and its 200-day moving average is $20.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.80 and a 1-year high of $23.47.

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

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.52%.

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.