Invesco Ltd. Grows Stock Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. significantly increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 166.8% during the first quarter, acquiring over 1.6 million additional shares, bringing their total ownership to approximately 0.45% of the company.
• Multiple analyst upgrades have been issued for Albertsons, with BMO Capital Markets raising its rating from "market perform" to "outperform" and increasing the target price to $25.00.
• Albertsons Companies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.1%, and reported a revenue increase of 2.5% year-over-year for the last quarter.

Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 166.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,568,841 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,605,993 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.45% of Albertsons Companies worth $56,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. WealthCollab LLC increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 446.0% during the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 1,780 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 340.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,919 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,370 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of ACI stock traded up $0.0450 during trading on Friday, hitting $19.5050. The company's stock had a trading volume of 713,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,077,150. The company has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The business has a fifty day moving average of $20.63 and a 200-day moving average of $21.18. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $23.20.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $24.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.68 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 37.92% and a net margin of 1.18%.Albertsons Companies's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.030-2.160 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on ACI shares. Barclays started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, July 21st. They set an "underweight" rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Albertsons Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised Albertsons Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $27.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.