Private Wealth Partners LLC Buys 51,100 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Private Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 73.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 120,371 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 51,100 shares during the quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $2,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 88.1% during the third 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 7.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,063,266 shares of the company's stock worth $167,229,000 after buying an additional 592,711 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,615,413 shares of the company's stock worth $159,213,000 after buying an additional 141,933 shares during the period. Parsifal Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 22.8% during the third 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 period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 25.1% during the third 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 period. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACI has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday, January 9th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.21.

Albertsons Companies Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE ACI traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $20.54. 7,541,312 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,274,722. The stock has a market cap of $11.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.43. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The firm had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.15 dividend. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is currently 33.71%.

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.