Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Acquires 38,000 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 3,166.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,200 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 38,000 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd's holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ACI. FMR LLC boosted 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 during the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 8,546,881 shares of the company's stock worth $157,946,000 after buying an additional 1,585,899 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,170,601 shares of the company's stock worth $114,033,000 after buying an additional 1,239,978 shares during the last quarter. Trium Capital LLP purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $23,678,000. Finally, Anson Funds Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 973.0% in the 3rd quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 1,190,165 shares of the company's stock worth $21,994,000 after buying an additional 1,079,246 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACI traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.64. 4,688,091 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,869,954. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $22.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The company has a market cap of $12.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. The business's fifty day moving average price is $20.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.52.

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

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is 33.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ACI. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $26.00 price objective 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.50.

Albertsons Companies Company 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.