Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Makes New $325,000 Investment in Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. has invested approximately $325,000 in Albertsons Companies, Inc. by acquiring 14,768 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their stakes in Albertsons, leading to a combined ownership of 71.35% of the company's stock.
• Albertsons reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.55, surpassing analyst expectations, and announced a dividend of $0.15 per share, yielding 3.2% annually.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 14,768 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $325,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 340.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,919 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 48,840.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 2,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 54.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACI has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Albertsons Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded Albertsons Companies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. UBS Group upgraded Albertsons Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.94.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACI traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $18.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,603,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,040,620. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.99. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $23.20.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 37.92% and a net margin of 1.18%.The company had revenue of $24.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.030-2.160 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 25th. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is 36.59%.

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.