12,044 Shares in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Purchased by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 12,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Private Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,196,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,138,000 after purchasing an additional 43,532 shares during the last quarter. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth $746,000. K2 Principal Fund L.P. increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 68.4% during the third quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 270,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,999,000 after acquiring an additional 109,901 shares during the last quarter. ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $433,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,906,000. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of ACI stock opened at $22.45 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $13.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $22.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The company’s 50 day moving average is $20.88 and its 200 day moving average is $19.72.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The firm had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This is a boost from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

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.