42,541 Shares in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Acquired by Friedenthal Financial

Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 42,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $935,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter worth $11,800,000. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter worth $746,000. ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter worth $433,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter worth $243,000. Finally, III Capital Management acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter worth $5,892,000. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, 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 research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albertsons Companies

In other news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 now owns 162,569 shares in the company, valued at $3,488,730.74. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.26% of the company's stock.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

ACI stock traded up $0.59 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.68. 8,277,709 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,807,631. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $23.20. The company has a market capitalization of $12.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $18.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.19% and a return on equity of 41.03%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is presently 36.59%.

Albertsons Companies Company 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.