Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 41,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $961,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 9.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,144,018 shares of the company's stock valued at $754,026,000 after purchasing an additional 2,950,786 shares in the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,739,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 232.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,485,704 shares of the company's stock worth $56,596,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737,466 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 95.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,230,794 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092,150 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,709,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,143,000 after acquiring an additional 865,554 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $27.25 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price 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 Tuesday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.85.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ACI traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $20.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,578,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,445,564. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.88 and a fifty-two week high of $23.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $20.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.65, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.50.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.51%.

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.