NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd Buys New Shares in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 38,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $746,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ACI. Private Management Group Inc. grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,196,484 shares of the company's stock worth $43,138,000 after purchasing an additional 43,532 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 9.2% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,117,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,646,000 after buying an additional 94,300 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 5.7% during the third 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 during the period. K2 Principal Fund L.P. lifted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 68.4% in the 3rd quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 270,501 shares of the company's stock worth $4,999,000 after acquiring an additional 109,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $433,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ACI. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.21.

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Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

ACI stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $20.99. 11,142,785 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,541,850. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $21.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.47.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.82 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. Albertsons Companies's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

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.