WINTON GROUP Ltd Buys 54,561 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 123.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,718 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,561 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $1,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 134.6% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 23,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 13,749 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,668,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,321,000 after buying an additional 118,855 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 13.2% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 27,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 54.5% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 338,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,252,000 after acquiring an additional 119,331 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 88.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:ACI opened at $21.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.68 and its 200 day moving average is $19.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $22.05.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.82 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on ACI shares. UBS Group lowered 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. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.50.

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.