Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 12.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,963 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,902 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 108.4% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 2,948.4% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 2,801 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 133.3% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 4,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Albertsons Companies in the second quarter worth approximately $126,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $150,000. 71.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ACI. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $27.25 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, October 11th. Melius Research raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Melius upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.58.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock opened at $19.37 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.80 and a twelve month high of $23.47. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $18.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.52. The firm has a market cap of $11.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.49.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.25% and a return on equity of 49.50%. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 28.07%.

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.