Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 791,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,544,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.14% of Albertsons Companies at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ACI. Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 743,942 shares of the company's stock worth $14,611,000 after acquiring an additional 265,630 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $271,000. FIL Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $512,000. Elgethun Capital Management increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 177,667 shares of the company's stock worth $3,489,000 after buying an additional 1,966 shares during the period. Finally, Twin Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Albertsons Companies by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 40,476 shares of the company's stock worth $795,000 after buying an additional 1,146 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ACI. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup began coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.38.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.90. 5,822,704 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,379,622. The company has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.10. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $18.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.59%.

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.