New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Invests $1.83 Million in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board bought a new position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 83,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,825,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 204.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 10,731 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 7,209 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 91.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 8,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 4,101 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,836,469 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,708,000 after purchasing an additional 167,566 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $244,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $243,000. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock traded down $0.04 on Monday, hitting $22.12. The stock had a trading volume of 8,739,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,984,825. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year high of $23.20. The stock has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.48, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.44. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $21.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.20.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $18.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.78 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.19% and a return on equity of 41.03%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ACI. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $31.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $1,015,122.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.