CastleKnight Management LP Sells 100,000 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

CastleKnight Management LP lowered its holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 65.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,700 shares of the company's stock after selling 100,000 shares during the quarter. CastleKnight Management LP's holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $1,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter worth $298,302,000. FMR LLC lifted 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 valued at $513,596,000 after buying an additional 9,308,940 shares during the period. Dendur Capital LP acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $49,100,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,310,122 shares of the company's stock worth $713,131,000 after acquiring an additional 2,347,875 shares during the period. Finally, Candlestick Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,376,000. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Shares of ACI stock opened at $21.93 on Wednesday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.00 and a 1 year high of $23.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The firm's 50 day moving average is $21.50 and its 200-day moving average is $20.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $18.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is presently 36.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. 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. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.93.

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.

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