Securian Asset Management Inc. Acquires New Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Securian Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 30,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $677,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ACI. Mason Investment Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Albertsons Companies by 0.7% during the first quarter. Mason Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 78,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,717,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 47,232 shares of the company's stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 54.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,997 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061 shares in the last quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 40,476 shares of the company's stock worth $795,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 24,765 shares of the company's stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of Albertsons Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 162,569 shares in the company, valued at $3,488,730.74. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ACI. UBS Group lowered their price target on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Albertsons Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays initiated coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research report on Monday. They set an "underweight" rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Albertsons Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.88.

Albertsons Companies Stock Down 2.1%

ACI traded down $0.42 during trading on Monday, hitting $20.05. The company had a trading volume of 6,752,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,134,406. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $21.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.24. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year high of $23.20. The company has a market capitalization of $11.54 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.44.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $24.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.68 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 37.92%. The business's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

Albertsons Companies Company 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.