Crestline Management LP Buys Shares of 26,693 Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Crestline Management LP acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 26,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $524,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,310,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $713,131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,347,875 shares during the period. 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 purchasing an additional 9,308,940 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $298,302,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,491,772 shares of the company's stock worth $186,211,000 after acquiring an additional 428,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in 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 worth $146,621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,294,848 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE ACI traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $21.99. 1,434,981 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,566,516. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $23.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $21.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.44. The company has a market capitalization of $12.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31.

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

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. 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 2.73%. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ACI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research 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. 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 report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.