Artemis Investment Management LLP Takes Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 308,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,791,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned approximately 0.05% of Albertsons Companies at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ACI. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 316.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 446.0% during the fourth quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 1,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 340.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 54.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

NYSE ACI opened at $21.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.46. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $23.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $18.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 41.03% and a net margin of 1.19%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 36.59%.

Insider Activity at Albertsons Companies

In other Albertsons Companies news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.46, for a total transaction of $1,015,122.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 162,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,488,730.74. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on ACI shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group lowered 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 report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.36.

Albertsons Companies 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.