Citigroup Inc. Sells 29,512 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Citigroup Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 282,514 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,512 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $5,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies during the 1st quarter worth $77,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the first quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 35.4% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. 68.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.25 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.03.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of ACI stock opened at $22.46 on Friday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.14 and a 52 week high of $30.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.02. The firm has a market cap of $12.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.91, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.09. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 82.79% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $24.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.89 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 26th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 25th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

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.