Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd Trims Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 34.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 210,572 shares of the company's stock after selling 112,100 shares during the quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $4,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,310,122 shares of the company's stock worth $713,131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,347,875 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $298,302,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,491,772 shares of the company's stock worth $186,211,000 after buying an additional 428,506 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Albertsons Companies by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,615,413 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,213,000 after acquiring an additional 141,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parsifal Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 8,546,881 shares of the company's stock worth $157,946,000 after acquiring an additional 1,585,899 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ACI. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup started 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 on the stock. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.50.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock traded up $0.53 on Thursday, reaching $22.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,863,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,088,006. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $23.16. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $20.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The company has a market capitalization of $13.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last released 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 the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is 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.