Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 42.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,409 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,463 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 108.4% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 91.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 8,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 4,101 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $179,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the third quarter worth approximately $185,000. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ACI opened at $20.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $20.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $12.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.51. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.00 and a 1 year high of $21.67.

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

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.21.

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.