Cerity Partners LLC Acquires New Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 12,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 255.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. CI Investments Inc. increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the period. Finally, Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $202,000. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Roth Capital raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.45.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock opened at $20.13 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.84 and a 52-week high of $23.88. The company has a market cap of $11.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.03, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.50.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is currently 21.52%.

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.