Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Stock Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in Albertsons Companies by 53.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 740,318 shares and leaving it with 652,061 shares worth about $11.2 million.
• Albertsons posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, earning $0.48 per share versus the $0.43 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 7.7% year over year to $20.25 billion.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.17 per share, and Wall Street sentiment remains mixed with an average analyst rating of Hold and a mean price target of $21.31.

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 53.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 652,061 shares of the company's stock after selling 740,318 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.13% of Albertsons Companies worth $11,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 103.5% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 185.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,628 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 91.2% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 172.8% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,524 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

ACI stock opened at $15.75 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.63 and a 200-day moving average of $17.18. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.36 and a 12-month high of $22.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.58. The company has a market cap of $7.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.20, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.40.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.05. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 0.26% and a return on equity of 42.75%. The company had revenue of $20.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.220-2.320 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 24th. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is 212.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered Albertsons Companies from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.31.

Albertsons Companies Profile

Albertsons Companies, Inc NYSE: ACI is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, operating a diversified portfolio of grocery store banners. Founded in 1939 by Joe Albertson in Boise, Idaho, the company has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions. Its core business activities encompass the sale of fresh produce, meat, bakery items, deli offerings, pharmacy services, and general merchandise. The company's retail operations are complemented by an in-house private-label program, featuring brands such as O Organics, Open Nature, and Lucerne, which cater to a range of customer preferences and price points.

Throughout its history, Albertsons Companies has pursued growth via mergers and partnerships.

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