Ethic Inc. Raises Stock Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Ethic Inc. lifted its position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 35.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,072 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,912 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 108.4% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 225.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 316.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 446.0% in the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 1,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $93,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on ACI. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.36.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:ACI opened at $21.84 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $21.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.41. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $23.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.06. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The business had revenue of $18.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.59%.

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.