Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 25.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,051,662 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 210,737 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.19% of Albertsons Companies worth $22,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. Tredje AP fonden grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 71.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 46,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after purchasing an additional 19,477 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 241.6% in the 1st quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 23,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $509,000 after acquiring an additional 16,375 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $379,000. Islay Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the second quarter worth about $987,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Albertsons Companies by 1.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,901,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,510,000 after purchasing an additional 124,824 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:ACI opened at $18.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.98 and a 200 day moving average of $19.68. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.70 and a 52 week high of $23.20.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.04. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.20% and a return on equity of 36.39%. The firm had revenue of $18.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.060-2.190 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 24th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 24th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 35.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Albertsons Companies from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael T. Theilmann sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.35, for a total transaction of $1,935,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 338,429 shares in the company, valued at $6,548,601.15. This represents a 22.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anuj Dhanda sold 230,000 shares of Albertsons Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.25, for a total transaction of $4,427,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 300,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,786,107.25. This trade represents a 43.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.