Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Shares Sold by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lowered its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 79.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,773 shares of the company’s stock after selling 308,224 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $1,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ACI. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 76.8% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $185,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 63.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 76,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 29,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiducient Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.21.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ACI opened at $20.69 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $11.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.51. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $21.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.45.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.