Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 508,918 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia significantly reduced its stake in Albertsons Companies, selling 508,918 shares and decreasing its holding by 97.4%, leaving it with just 13,318 shares valued at approximately $293,000.
• Institutional investors currently hold 71.35% of Albertsons Companies stock, with notable increases from firms such as LPL Financial LLC and Wells Fargo & Company during the last quarter.
• Albertsons recently reported earnings of $0.55 per share, exceeding analyst expectations and revealing a revenue increase of 2.5% year-over-year.

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 97.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,318 shares of the company's stock after selling 508,918 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ACI. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,800,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,420,000. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. III Capital Management bought a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,892,000. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ACI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, July 21st. They set an "underweight" rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.06.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACI traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $19.15. The company had a trading volume of 4,738,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,143,346. The company's 50 day moving average price is $20.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.22. 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 market cap of $10.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.46. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. The company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 25th. Albertsons Companies's 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.