Cwm LLC Has $1.56 Million Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 5,988.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,692 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 69,531 shares during the quarter. CWM LLC's holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $1,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Mason Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Mason Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 78,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,717,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 47,232 shares of the company's stock valued at $941,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 54.8% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 1,061 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 40,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 1,146 shares during the period. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 24,765 shares of the company's stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ACI shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 target price (up previously from $23.00) on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Monday. They set an "underweight" rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Albertsons Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.06.

Insider Transactions at Albertsons Companies

In related 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 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 $3,488,730.74. The trade was a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of ACI traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $20.82. 4,963,791 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,160,199. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.18. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $23.20. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $21.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.24.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $24.88 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

Albertsons Companies Profile

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.