Merit Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 20,727 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $456,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 225.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 959 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 316.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 446.0% in the fourth quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 1,780 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares during the period. Ossiam purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $93,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 241,500.0% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 4,832 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 4,830 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albertsons Companies news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of Albertsons Companies stock in a transaction on 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 owns 162,569 shares in the company, valued at $3,488,730.74. The trade was a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company's stock.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $21.19. The company had a trading volume of 3,686,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,745,772. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $21.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.85. The stock has a market cap of $12.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.21. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year high of $23.20.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $18.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is 36.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on ACI shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.36.

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.