Fmr LLC Purchases 7,887,688 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Fmr LLC raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 88.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,841,582 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,887,688 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned approximately 2.91% of Albertsons Companies worth $311,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Albertsons Companies by 6.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 207,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,449,000 after purchasing an additional 13,058 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 109.7% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 57,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after buying an additional 29,849 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 36,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $779,000 after acquiring an additional 4,716 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,725,000. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 11.0% during the second quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 53,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 5,328 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ACI. Melius raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, October 21st. Melius Research raised Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.58.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Shares of ACI opened at $19.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.50. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.80 and a fifty-two week high of $23.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.49.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 49.50% and a net margin of 1.25%. The company had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Albertsons Companies’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.07%.

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.