Synergy Asset Management LLC Purchases Shares of 12,622 Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 88.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,841,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,232,000 after purchasing an additional 7,887,688 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 7.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,063,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,229,000 after purchasing an additional 592,711 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,615,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,213,000 after buying an additional 141,933 shares during the period. Parsifal Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 22.8% during the third quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 8,546,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,946,000 after buying an additional 1,585,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,170,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,033,000 after buying an additional 1,239,978 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. Melius Research raised Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of ACI opened at $20.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.51. 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 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $21.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.35.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.82 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is presently 26.97%.

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.