Allianz Asset Management GmbH Buys 711,296 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 297.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 950,441 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 711,296 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned 0.17% of Albertsons Companies worth $20,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ACI. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $243,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 296.5% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 473,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,302,000 after purchasing an additional 354,176 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $2,292,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 495.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 81,271 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,596,000 after purchasing an additional 67,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 6.9% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

NYSE ACI traded down $0.12 during trading on Monday, hitting $19.89. 1,381,665 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,137,652. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.44. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $23.20. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $21.52 and a 200-day moving average of $21.27.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $24.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.68 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 37.92%. The company's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albertsons Companies news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of Albertsons Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.46, for a total transaction of $1,015,122.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 162,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,488,730.74. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ACI. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 price target (up previously from $23.00) on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.06.

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.