Swiss National Bank Buys 94,300 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Swiss National Bank grew its position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,117,200 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 94,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $20,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 38.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,426,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,669,000 after purchasing an additional 956,744 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,624,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,337,000 after purchasing an additional 924,519 shares during the period. Lubert Adler Management Company LP grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 47.1% during the second quarter. Lubert Adler Management Company LP now owns 2,664,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,629,000 after buying an additional 852,857 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 546.6% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 954,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,849,000 after purchasing an additional 806,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Murchinson Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $14,719,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ACI. Melius Research raised Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Melius raised Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.25 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.58.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

NYSE:ACI opened at $19.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.80 and a 12-month high of $23.47. The company’s 50-day moving average is $18.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.54.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.25% and a return on equity of 49.50%. The company had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is currently 28.07%.

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.