Graham Capital Management L.P. Increases Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Graham Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 218,547 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 26,204 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $4,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ACI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,310,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $713,131,000 after acquiring an additional 2,347,875 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 9,308,940 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $298,302,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 428,506 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,465,449 shares of the company's stock valued at $146,621,000 after buying an additional 1,294,848 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock opened at $22.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.35. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.00 and a 12 month high of $23.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.06. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The firm had revenue of $18.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on ACI shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.36.

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.

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