VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Sells 1,031,200 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems cut its Albertsons stake by 26.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,031,200 shares and leaving it with 2,887,200 shares valued at about $49.6 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Albertsons has a consensus rating of “Hold” with an average price target of $21.31, though several firms recently adjusted targets and ratings.
• Albertsons reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.48 per share, beat revenue and profit expectations, and recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.17 per share.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al cut its holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 26.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,887,200 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,031,200 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned approximately 0.56% of Albertsons Companies worth $49,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ACI. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 109.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,542,468 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,919,000 after buying an additional 806,336 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,090,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 14,364 shares of the company's stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 2,528 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 39.3% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 504,944 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,861,000 after purchasing an additional 142,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 5.4% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ACI. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $14.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Albertsons Companies from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.31.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

ACI stock opened at $15.89 on Wednesday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.55 and a 1 year high of $22.78. The company has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.66, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.97 and a 200 day moving average of $17.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.58, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.05. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 0.26% and a return on equity of 42.75%. The business had revenue of $20.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.220-2.320 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.11 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 24th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 24th. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is 212.50%.

Albertsons Companies Company Profile

Albertsons Companies, Inc NYSE: ACI is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, operating a diversified portfolio of grocery store banners. Founded in 1939 by Joe Albertson in Boise, Idaho, the company has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions. Its core business activities encompass the sale of fresh produce, meat, bakery items, deli offerings, pharmacy services, and general merchandise. The company's retail operations are complemented by an in-house private-label program, featuring brands such as O Organics, Open Nature, and Lucerne, which cater to a range of customer preferences and price points.

Throughout its history, Albertsons Companies has pursued growth via mergers and partnerships.

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