Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI Shares Acquired by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 25.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,116,615 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 227,257 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.20% of Albertsons Companies worth $24,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the first quarter worth about $546,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 92.8% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 3,074 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,374,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $821,869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064,547 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,075,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,636,000 after purchasing an additional 239,291 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 308,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,775,000 after purchasing an additional 62,167 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anuj Dhanda sold 230,000 shares of Albertsons Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.25, for a total transaction of $4,427,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 300,577 shares in the company, valued at $5,786,107.25. The trade was a 43.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael T. Theilmann sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.35, for a total transaction of $1,935,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 338,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,548,601.15. The trade was a 22.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE ACI opened at $17.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.70 and a 12-month high of $23.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $17.99 and a 200 day moving average of $19.41.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $18.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.89 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 36.39% and a net margin of 1.20%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.060-2.190 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 24th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 24th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on ACI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.43.

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.