Natixis Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 24,809 Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC has acquired 24,809 shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE: ACI), valued at approximately $546,000, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Albertsons recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, which results in an annualized yield of 3.1%, with a payout ratio of 36.59%.
• Despite a recent 1.8% decline in stock value, Albertsons reported a revenue increase of 2.5% year-over-year, with earnings per share of $0.55, surpassing expectations.

Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 24,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $546,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Seizert Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 19.9% during the first quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,165,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,628,000 after acquiring an additional 360,067 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 138.9% during the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 14,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 8,200 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 19.9% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 49,170 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 8,156 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 12.6% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 889,358 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,557,000 after purchasing an additional 99,319 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the first quarter valued at $1,186,000. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $22.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They set an "underweight" rating and a $19.00 target price for the company. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.06.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:ACI traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $19.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,478,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,052,325. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.00 and a 1 year high of $23.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.77 and a 200-day moving average of $21.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 37.92%. 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 firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 36.59%.

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.