Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Shares Sold by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lessened its holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 44.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,166,437 shares of the company's stock after selling 935,978 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.20% of Albertsons Companies worth $22,909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 108.4% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 225.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 40,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $795,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,192 shares of the company's stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 316.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.38.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 1.1 %

ACI stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.94. 5,301,362 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,399,629. The company has a market capitalization of $12.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.15. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.00 and a 12 month high of $23.20.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $18.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is 36.59%.

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.