Baird Financial Group Inc. Acquires 15,579 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 158,623 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 15,579 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $3,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,310,122 shares of the company's stock worth $713,131,000 after buying an additional 2,347,875 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 55.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,150,522 shares of the company's stock worth $513,596,000 after acquiring an additional 9,308,940 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter worth $298,302,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Albertsons Companies by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,491,772 shares of the company's stock worth $186,211,000 after purchasing an additional 428,506 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,465,449 shares of the company's stock valued at $146,621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,294,848 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Shares of ACI stock traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $21.47. The stock had a trading volume of 6,485,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,562,934. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $21.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Albertsons Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.36.

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.