Wealthfront Advisers LLC Takes Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 48,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $955,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Burren Capital Advisors Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,560,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $318,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,544,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 109,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,498 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on ACI shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.50.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock opened at $21.12 on Friday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.00 and a 1 year high of $21.67. The firm has a market cap of $12.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.49. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.71%.

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.