Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Shares Bought by Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC

Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 225.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,385 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 959 shares during the quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $27,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,816 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $185,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 63.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 76,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,408,000 after buying an additional 29,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiducient Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $234,000. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACI opened at $20.43 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $20.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.43. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.00 and a 12 month 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.51.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The company had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. Albertsons Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders 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. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ACI shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.21.

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.