American Century Companies Inc. Raises Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. significantly increased its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. by 1,773.9%, owning 511,543 shares valued at approximately $11.2 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Albertsons Companies reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.55, slightly above expectations, with revenue of $24.88 billion, marking a 2.5% increase from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, which equates to an annual yield of 3.0%, and currently has a payout ratio of 36.59%.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 1,773.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 511,543 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 484,244 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.09% of Albertsons Companies worth $11,249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,420,000. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. III Capital Management purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,892,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 241.6% in the 1st quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 23,154 shares of the company's stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 16,375 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ACI. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Albertsons Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $19.00 to $25.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays began coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, July 21st. They set an "underweight" rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Albertsons Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven research 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, Albertsons Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.94.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:ACI traded down $0.28 on Thursday, hitting $19.26. 4,132,823 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,416,061. The stock has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a PE ratio of 11.74, a PEG ratio of 1.99 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.46 and a 200-day moving average of $21.14. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $23.20.

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, topping 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%.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. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.030-2.160 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. 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 currently 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.