Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Has $1.82 Million Stock Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 152.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,637 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 49,840 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $1,817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter worth $298,302,000. FMR LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 9,308,940 shares in the last quarter. Southeastern Asset Management Inc. TN lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 108.0% in the fourth quarter. Southeastern Asset Management Inc. TN now owns 5,766,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,258,000 after acquiring an additional 2,993,988 shares in the last quarter. Dendur Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,100,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,347,875 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ACI shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Albertsons Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albertsons Companies

In other Albertsons Companies news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.46, for a total value of $1,015,122.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 162,569 shares in the company, valued at $3,488,730.74. The trade was a 22.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.35% of the company's stock.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:ACI traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $20.05. The stock had a trading volume of 6,752,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,134,406. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.44. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $23.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.24.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $24.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.68 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 37.92%. Albertsons Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is 36.59%.

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.