Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 54.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,997 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,061 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $66,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in Albertsons Companies by 225.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 316.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 446.0% in the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 1,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 340.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $93,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

ACI opened at $21.68 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $21.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.91. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $23.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29. The firm has a market cap of $12.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albertsons Companies news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.46, for a total transaction of $1,015,122.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 162,569 shares in the company, valued at $3,488,730.74. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised Albertsons Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.36.

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.