MRP Capital Investments LLC Decreases Stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

MRP Capital Investments LLC lessened its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 27.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,081 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,459 shares during the quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $1,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ACI. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 108.4% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 225.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 316.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 91.0% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 8,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 4,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $179,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ACI. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. 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 lifted their target price on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

NYSE ACI opened at $21.27 on Friday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $22.05. The stock has a market cap of $12.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $20.62 and a 200-day moving average of $19.54. 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 (NYSE:ACI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The company had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. 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. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 33.71%.

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.