Rodgers Brothers Inc. Cuts Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Rodgers Brothers Inc. lowered its holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 67,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,600 shares during the quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc.’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $1,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 108.4% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 225.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 316.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Albertsons Companies by 91.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 8,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 4,101 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $179,000. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of ACI stock opened at $21.61 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a PEG 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $20.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.65. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year high of $22.05.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $18.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ACI. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Bank of America began coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.