Carlson Capital L.P. Takes Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Carlson Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $746,000. Albertsons Companies makes up 0.4% of Carlson Capital L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ACI. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 108.4% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 225.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 76.8% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $179,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $185,000. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ACI opened at $20.69 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $11.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $21.67.

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

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This is a boost from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.21.

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.