Hsbc Holdings PLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 77.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 202,630 shares of the company's stock after selling 677,591 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $3,982,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 108.4% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 225.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 40,476 shares of the company's stock worth $795,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 10.0% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,192 shares of the company's stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 316.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,358 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.93.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

ACI stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Monday, reaching $21.86. The company had a trading volume of 598,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,551,446. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $23.20. The company has a market cap of $12.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.25.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The company had revenue of $18.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.59%.

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.