GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Stock Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 9,578.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,199 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 41,763 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albertsons Companies news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 162,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,488,730.74. This 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 through this link. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.68. 4,879,911 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,781,606. The company has a market capitalization of $12.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.89. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.00 and a 12 month high of $23.20.

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

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ACI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on 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 reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group cut their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.36.

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.