Hancock Whitney Corp Purchases Shares of 15,957 Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corp has acquired 15,957 shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (ACI), valued at approximately $351,000, indicating interest from institutional investors in the grocery sector.
• Overall, institutional investors own 71.35% of Albertsons' stock, with significant increases in stakes reported from Cinctive Capital Management, Alliancebernstein, and AQR Capital Management.
• Albertsons reported a net margin of 1.18% and exceeded earnings expectations with $0.55 earnings per share for the last quarter, while also announcing a dividend of $0.15 per share.

Hancock Whitney Corp bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $351,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the first quarter worth about $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 340.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,919 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 1,483 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 48,840.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,447 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 2,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 54.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,997 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Albertsons Companies stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $18.74. The company had a trading volume of 3,293,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,013,203. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $23.20. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $19.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 37.92% and a net margin of 1.18%.The firm had revenue of $24.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.030-2.160 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast 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, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group upgraded Albertsons Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Albertsons Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 7th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (up from $23.00) on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.94.

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.