Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 83.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,728 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44,159 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 9.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,144,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $754,026,000 after purchasing an additional 2,950,786 shares during the period. Westchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $64,739,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 232.2% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,485,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737,466 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 95.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,230,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092,150 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 22.5% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,709,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,143,000 after purchasing an additional 865,554 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ACI. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Roth Mkm raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Roth Capital raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.25 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.45.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of ACI stock opened at $20.06 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.62. The company has a market cap of $11.55 billion, a PE ratio of 8.99, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.84 and a 12-month high of $23.88.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is presently 21.52%.

Albertsons Companies Company 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.