Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Increases Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 87.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 97,565 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 45,513 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $2,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ACI. WealthCollab LLC grew its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 446.0% in the fourth quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 1,780 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the first quarter worth $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 340.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,919 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 54.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,997 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 100.0% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,370 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 2.6%

Albertsons Companies stock traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,367,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,820,695. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $21.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.25. The stock has a market cap of $11.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.44. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.00 and a 12 month high of $23.20.

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

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albertsons Companies news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 162,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,488,730.74. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ACI shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (up from $23.00) on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. 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 objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.06.

About Albertsons Companies

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.