Swedbank AB Sells 93,951 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI

Key Points

• Swedbank AB reduced its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. by 31.3% during the first quarter, ending with 205,996 shares valued at $4.53 million.
• Several institutional investors have recently increased their holdings in Albertsons, with AQR Capital Management LLC boosting its shares by a significant 1,601.1% in the same period.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Albertsons, with a consensus price target of $23.94, reflecting a moderate buy sentiment despite some downgrades from other brokerages.

Swedbank AB reduced its holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 31.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 205,996 shares of the company's stock after selling 93,951 shares during the period. Swedbank AB's holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $4,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 340.1% in 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. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the first quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 48,840.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 2,442 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ACI. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.94.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 2.3%

NYSE:ACI traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $17.90. 10,051,807 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,331,688. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.91, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.51. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $23.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $24.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.68 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 37.92% and a net margin of 1.18%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.030-2.160 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is 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.