Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $5.09 Million Stock Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 75.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 259,149 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 111,842 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $5,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 54.4% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 138,347 shares of the company's stock worth $2,717,000 after buying an additional 48,752 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,238,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 201.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 307,265 shares of the company's stock worth $6,035,000 after purchasing an additional 205,335 shares during the period. Islay Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $782,000. Finally, Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $371,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.36.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 2.4 %

Albertsons Companies stock traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.66. The stock had a trading volume of 10,042,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,307,437. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.00 and a 12 month high of $23.20. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.97.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The business had revenue of $18.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is 36.59%.

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.