Amundi Trims Stock Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Amundi trimmed its holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 62.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,475,458 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,467,883 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $29,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Management Group Inc. grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,196,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,138,000 after buying an additional 43,532 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,117,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,646,000 after buying an additional 94,300 shares in the last quarter. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $746,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 670,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,395,000 after purchasing an additional 36,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, K2 Principal Fund L.P. grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 68.4% during the 3rd quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 270,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,999,000 after purchasing an additional 109,901 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Albertsons Companies stock opened at $20.89 on Thursday. 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 $12.10 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.49. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $21.67.

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

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. 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 2.87%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is currently 33.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ACI. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, 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 target for the company. Six research 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.43.

Albertsons Companies 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.