Retirement Systems of Alabama Takes $22.17 Million Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,008,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,171,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.17% of Albertsons Companies at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 225.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 316.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 340.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,919 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 54.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.46, for a total transaction of $1,015,122.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 162,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,488,730.74. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

ACI stock traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $21.68. The stock had a trading volume of 8,277,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,807,631. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.93. The stock has a market cap of $12.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.46. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 41.03% and a net margin of 1.19%. The company had revenue of $18.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is 36.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.36.

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.