Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 152.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 82,637 shares of the company's stock after buying 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.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter worth $11,800,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies during the first quarter valued at $1,420,000. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new position in Albertsons Companies during the first quarter valued at $40,000. III Capital Management bought a new position in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $5,892,000. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $232,000. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ACI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $31.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $24.00 target price (up from $23.00) on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Albertsons Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.20.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of ACI traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.47. 7,587,961 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,126,438. The stock's 50-day moving average is $21.67 and its 200-day moving average is $21.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.82. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $23.20. The company has a market cap of $11.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.44.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $24.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.68 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 37.92%. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albertsons Companies

In related news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.46, for a total transaction of $1,015,122.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 162,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,488,730.74. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.