Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Shares Bought by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,636,732 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 167,725 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.80% of Albertsons Companies worth $91,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. Private Management Group Inc. grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,196,484 shares of the company's stock worth $43,138,000 after acquiring an additional 43,532 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,800,000. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $746,000. ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $433,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $248,000. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on ACI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.93.

Albertsons Companies Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE ACI traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.95. 4,364,712 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,427,767. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $23.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $12.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $21.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.20.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $18.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

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.