Norges Bank Takes $298.30 Million Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 15,188,476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,302,000. Norges Bank owned 2.62% of Albertsons Companies as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 225.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 316.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 91.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 8,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 4,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth $179,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of ACI stock opened at $21.61 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $20.72 and a 200-day moving average of $19.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The stock has a market cap of $12.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $18.77 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. This is a boost from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 33.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ACI. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.50.

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.