Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Takes $450,000 Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 22,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $450,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 108.4% during the 4th 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 lifted its position in Albertsons Companies by 225.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in Albertsons Companies by 10.0% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 316.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.4% during the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of ACI stock opened at $20.79 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $20.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.59. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year high of $22.05. The company has a market cap of $12.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. 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) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.82 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.50.

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.