Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Shares Acquired by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,064 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,544 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $1,572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,196,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,138,000 after acquiring an additional 43,532 shares in the last quarter. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $746,000. K2 Principal Fund L.P. grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 68.4% in the 3rd quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 270,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,999,000 after buying an additional 109,901 shares during the last quarter. ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter worth $433,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,906,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock opened at $22.38 on Wednesday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.00 and a 1 year high of $22.40. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.70. The company has a market capitalization of $12.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 33.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACI has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.