Milestone Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Milestone Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 78,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,541,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 108.4% in the fourth 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. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 76.8% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the company's stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $179,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $185,000. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $199,000. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ACI shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. 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 price objective for the company. 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. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Thursday, hitting $20.12. The stock had a trading volume of 2,962,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,965,382. The business has a fifty day moving average of $19.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.34. The firm has a market cap of $11.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.30, a PEG ratio of 1.83 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 $21.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.82 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The firm's revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

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.