Islay Capital Management LLC Invests $782,000 in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Islay Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 39,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $782,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ACI. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its stake in Albertsons Companies by 108.4% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 225.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 1,197 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 316.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 109,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,498 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ACI. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.50.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

ACI opened at $21.95 on Friday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.00 and a 1 year high of $23.20. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93.

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

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.71%.

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.