Royal Bank of Canada Purchases 239,144 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,634,819 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 239,144 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.45% of Albertsons Companies worth $51,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Albertsons Companies

In other news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 162,569 shares in the company, valued at $3,488,730.74. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.36.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 0.2%

Albertsons Companies stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $22.14. The company had a trading volume of 472,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,612,105. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The firm's fifty day moving average is $21.75 and its 200-day moving average is $20.63. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $23.20.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $18.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.71%. 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.