Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Stake Raised by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 39.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,820 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,449 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 9.2% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,117,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,646,000 after purchasing an additional 94,300 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 670,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,395,000 after buying an additional 36,154 shares in the last quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 68.4% in the third quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 270,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,999,000 after buying an additional 109,901 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in Albertsons Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,906,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $248,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius Research upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Melius raised Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.21.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of ACI stock opened at $20.81 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.00 and a 1 year high of $21.75.

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

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.