Bleakley Financial Group LLC Purchases New Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 17,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $390,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $243,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 316.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 13,314.5% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the company's stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 9,187 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 913.8% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 340,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,692,000 after buying an additional 307,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 149,944 shares of the company's stock worth $2,945,000 after purchasing an additional 22,603 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 2.1%

ACI traded down $0.42 during trading on Monday, reaching $20.05. 6,752,415 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,134,406. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year high of $23.20. 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 capitalization of $11.54 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $21.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.24.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

Insider Activity at Albertsons Companies

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ACI shares. Wall Street Zen cut Albertsons Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (up previously from $23.00) on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Albertsons Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.88.

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.