Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Trims Stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. by 20.3%, selling 19,032 shares and holding 74,595 shares worth approximately $1.64 million.
• Albertsons Companies reported a net revenue of $24.88 billion for the most recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and achieving a 2.5% increase compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, translating to an annual dividend yield of 3.1%, with a payout ratio of 36.59%.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lessened its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 20.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 74,595 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,032 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $1,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Albertsons Companies by 54.4% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 138,347 shares of the company's stock worth $2,717,000 after purchasing an additional 48,752 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $15,544,000. Mariner LLC purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $373,000. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $13,841,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,636,732 shares of the company's stock worth $91,064,000 after acquiring an additional 167,725 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 0.2%

ACI traded up $0.0480 on Friday, hitting $19.5080. 4,186,947 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,096,738. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $23.20. The company has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.18.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $24.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.68 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 37.92% and a net margin of 1.18%.Albertsons Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.030-2.160 EPS. On average, equities 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 was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 25th. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is presently 36.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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 note on Wednesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised Albertsons Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays assumed coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $19.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised Albertsons Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $22.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.94.

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.