Southeastern Asset Management Inc. TN Acquires 2,993,988 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Southeastern Asset Management Inc. TN increased its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 108.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,766,719 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,993,988 shares during the period. Albertsons Companies comprises about 5.3% of Southeastern Asset Management Inc. TN’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Southeastern Asset Management Inc. TN’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $113,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $298,302,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 55.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,150,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,596,000 after purchasing an additional 9,308,940 shares in the last quarter. Dendur Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,100,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,310,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,347,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parsifal Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 10,204,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,423,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657,981 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ACI. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.36.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of ACI stock opened at $21.91 on Friday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $23.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $21.67 and a 200-day moving average of $20.44. The company has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.06. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The business had revenue of $18.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 36.59%.

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.