Carlson Capital L.P. Acquires Shares of 38,000 Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Carlson Capital L.P. bought a new position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 38,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $746,000. Albertsons Companies makes up about 0.4% of Carlson Capital L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ACI. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 88.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,841,582 shares of the company's stock worth $311,232,000 after buying an additional 7,887,688 shares in the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 8,546,881 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,946,000 after purchasing an additional 1,585,899 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,170,601 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239,978 shares in the last quarter. Trium Capital LLP acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $23,678,000. Finally, Anson Funds Management LP increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 973.0% during the 3rd quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 1,190,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,079,246 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 1.1 %

Albertsons Companies stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.05. 4,702,007 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,242,103. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.83, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.51. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $21.67. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $20.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.47.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.82 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is currently 33.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ACI shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.21.

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.