Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 2,347,875 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,310,122 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,347,875 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 6.27% of Albertsons Companies worth $713,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 225.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,192 shares of the company's stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 316.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,358 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 109,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,147,000 after buying an additional 1,498 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:ACI traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.95. The stock had a trading volume of 6,566,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,106,749. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $20.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.76. The stock has a market cap of $12.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $23.20.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The business had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is 33.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ACI. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.50.

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.