Jones Financial Companies Lllp Boosts Stock Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 204.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,731 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,209 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ACI. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 108,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 17,902 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 37.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 24,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 6,770 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 44,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 11,884 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock opened at $21.18 on Friday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year high of $21.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.40 and its 200 day moving average is $19.49. The stock has a market cap of $12.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The company had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Albertsons Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This is a boost from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America began coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.50.

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.