Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires Shares of 9,387 Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 9,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth $298,302,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 55.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,150,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,596,000 after purchasing an additional 9,308,940 shares in the last quarter. Southeastern Asset Management Inc. TN boosted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 108.0% during the fourth quarter. Southeastern Asset Management Inc. TN now owns 5,766,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,258,000 after purchasing an additional 2,993,988 shares in the last quarter. Dendur Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth $49,100,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,310,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,347,875 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Albertsons Companies

In other news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.46, for a total transaction of $1,015,122.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 162,569 shares in the company, valued at $3,488,730.74. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 2.8%

Albertsons Companies stock opened at $21.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50-day moving average is $21.78 and its 200-day moving average is $20.91. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $23.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $18.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.19% and a return on equity of 41.03%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 36.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ACI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective 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 Thursday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.36.

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.