Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 76,859 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 93.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 159,245 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 76,859 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $3,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,310,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $713,131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,347,875 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 55.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,150,522 shares of the company's stock valued at $513,596,000 after buying an additional 9,308,940 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $298,302,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 10,204,862 shares of the company's stock worth $200,423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,657,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Albertsons Companies by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,491,772 shares of the company's stock worth $186,211,000 after acquiring an additional 428,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACI traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.21. The stock had a trading volume of 5,014,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,839,577. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $23.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.46.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $18.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.19% and a return on equity of 41.03%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is presently 36.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.46, for a total value of $1,015,122.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 162,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,488,730.74. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ACI. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Albertsons Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.36.

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.