Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Shares Acquired by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 21.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 962,848 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 167,439 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.17% of Albertsons Companies worth $18,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ACI. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 225.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 10.0% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,192 shares of the company's stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 316.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 109,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,498 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:ACI traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $22.42. 1,288,410 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,350,385. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $23.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company's 50 day moving average price is $21.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.05.

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

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ACI. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.38.

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.