Inspire Investing LLC Sells 24,044 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI

Key Points

• Inspire Investing LLC drastically reduced its holdings in Albertsons Companies, selling 24,044 shares, which represented a 66.1% decrease in their position during the second quarter.
• Institutional investors now hold approximately 71.35% of Albertsons Companies' stock, with several firms, such as AQR Capital Management and Voya Investment Management, significantly increasing their positions in the first quarter.
• Albertsons Companies recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, which translates to an annual yield of 3.0% based on its current stock price.

Inspire Investing LLC decreased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,352 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,044 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC's holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1,601.1% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,729,259 shares of the company's stock worth $103,807,000 after buying an additional 4,451,250 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Albertsons Companies by 6,541.5% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 3,723,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,882,000 after acquiring an additional 3,667,550 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 52.9% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 7,873,039 shares of the company's stock worth $173,128,000 after acquiring an additional 2,724,576 shares during the period. Apollo Management Holdings L.P. raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 174.1% in the 1st quarter. Apollo Management Holdings L.P. now owns 2,930,000 shares of the company's stock worth $64,431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,861,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 118.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,227,851 shares of the company's stock worth $73,164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,752,393 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays began coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set an "underweight" rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.50.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of NYSE ACI opened at $19.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $18.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.49. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.70 and a 1 year high of $23.20.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.20% and a return on equity of 36.39%. The firm had revenue of $24.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Friday, October 24th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 24th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albertsons Companies

In other Albertsons Companies news, EVP Michael T. Theilmann sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.35, for a total transaction of $1,935,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 338,429 shares in the company, valued at $6,548,601.15. This trade represents a 22.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anuj Dhanda sold 230,000 shares of Albertsons Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.25, for a total transaction of $4,427,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 300,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,786,107.25. The trade was a 43.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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