Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 167,566 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,836,469 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 167,566 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.49% of Albertsons Companies worth $55,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 108.4% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 225.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake 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 worth $169,000 after buying an additional 4,101 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $179,000. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the third quarter worth about $199,000. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on ACI shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup began coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.50.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE ACI opened at $21.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.49. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $21.67.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. The company 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%. Albertsons Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This is an increase 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 2.83%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 33.71%.

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.