Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 4,900 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 102,892 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,900 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $2,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ACI. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 15,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 2,248 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 120,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,364,000 after purchasing an additional 51,100 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $2,288,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Albertsons Companies by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 464,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. bought a new position in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on ACI shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.21.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

ACI stock opened at $20.67 on Wednesday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year high of $21.75. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.44. The company has a market capitalization of $11.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The business had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.