Cerity Partners LLC Buys New Shares in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 41,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $917,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ACI. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $243,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 296.5% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 473,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,302,000 after acquiring an additional 354,176 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,292,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 495.3% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 81,271 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,596,000 after acquiring an additional 67,618 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,310,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $713,131,000 after acquiring an additional 2,347,875 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on ACI shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Albertsons Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $24.00 price target (up from $23.00) on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $22.00 to $27.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.06.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Albertsons Companies stock traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $20.01. The company had a trading volume of 4,367,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,175,739. 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 current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The company has a market cap of $11.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.24.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 37.92%. The firm had revenue of $24.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued 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 3.00%. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.59%.

Insider Activity at Albertsons Companies

In other news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of Albertsons Companies stock in a transaction 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 owned 162,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,488,730.74. The trade was 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 accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.35% of the company's stock.

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.