Rathbones Group PLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC reduced its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. by 25.1% in the first quarter, holding 43,500 shares worth approximately $957,000.
• Albertsons reported a Q2 EPS of $0.55, surpassing expectations and showcasing 2.5% year-over-year revenue growth with total revenue of $24.88 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, amounting to an annual yield of 3.1%, reinforcing its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Rathbones Group PLC lowered its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 25.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,500 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,547 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WealthCollab LLC increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 446.0% during the fourth quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 1,780 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,454 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in 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. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,370 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

ACI stock opened at $19.08 on Thursday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year high of $23.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.20. The company has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.18.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 37.92%. The business had revenue of $24.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ACI. Barclays started coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Albertsons Companies from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Albertsons Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Albertsons Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.06.

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.

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