K2 Principal Fund L.P. Boosts Stock Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

K2 Principal Fund L.P. increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 68.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 270,501 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 109,901 shares during the quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P.'s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $4,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 88.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,841,582 shares of the company's stock worth $311,232,000 after acquiring an additional 7,887,688 shares during the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 22.8% in the third quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 8,546,881 shares of the company's stock worth $157,946,000 after purchasing an additional 1,585,899 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,239,978 shares during the period. Anson Funds Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 973.0% during the third 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. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 38.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,426,264 shares of the company's stock worth $67,669,000 after buying an additional 956,744 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ACI. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $27.25 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Melius Research raised Albertsons Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.25.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock remained flat at $19.14 during trading on Friday. 1,737,418 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,434,362. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.80 and a 12-month high of $23.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The company has a market cap of $11.09 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.51. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $18.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.43.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.47 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 49.50% and a net margin of 1.25%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Monday, October 28th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.07%.

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.