Foster & Motley Inc. Takes $321,000 Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Key Points

• Foster & Motley Inc. acquired 14,604 shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. valued at approximately $321,000 in the first quarter, signaling institutional interest in the stock.
• Albertsons reported a quarterly EPS of $0.55, slightly beating estimates, and achieved a 2.5% increase in revenue year-over-year with total revenue of $24.88 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, representing a 3.1% yield based on current stock prices, reflecting its financial stability.

Foster & Motley Inc. purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 14,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $321,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 55.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,150,522 shares of the company's stock worth $513,596,000 after purchasing an additional 9,308,940 shares in the last quarter. Southeastern Asset Management Inc. TN raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 108.0% during the 4th quarter. Southeastern Asset Management Inc. TN now owns 5,766,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,258,000 after purchasing an additional 2,993,988 shares in the last quarter. Dendur Capital LP bought a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $49,100,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 10,204,862 shares of the company's stock worth $200,423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,657,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 205.2% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,438,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,884,000 after buying an additional 1,639,190 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ACI. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays initiated coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, July 21st. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Albertsons Companies from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.06.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,488,730.74. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of ACI stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.24. 1,890,870 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,145,949. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $23.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $21.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.74, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.46.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.