Private Management Group Inc. Buys 43,087 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI

Private Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,403,801 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,087 shares during the period. Albertsons Companies comprises approximately 1.2% of Private Management Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $41,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $788,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 375,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,453,000 after acquiring an additional 67,287 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,276,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 42,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 2,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Albertsons Companies by 153.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,119,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,217,000 after buying an additional 676,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ACI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.31.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of ACI stock opened at $15.44 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.09. The company has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a PE ratio of 48.23, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.58. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.01 and a 12-month high of $22.78.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $20.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.49 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 42.75% and a net margin of 0.26%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.220-2.320 EPS. Analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 24th. This is a boost from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is currently 212.50%.

About Albertsons Companies

Albertsons Companies, Inc (NYSE: ACI) is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, operating a diversified portfolio of grocery store banners. Founded in 1939 by Joe Albertson in Boise, Idaho, the company has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions. Its core business activities encompass the sale of fresh produce, meat, bakery items, deli offerings, pharmacy services, and general merchandise. The company’s retail operations are complemented by an in-house private-label program, featuring brands such as O Organics, Open Nature, and Lucerne, which cater to a range of customer preferences and price points.

Throughout its history, Albertsons Companies has pursued growth via mergers and partnerships.