Highland Capital Management LLC Invests $264,000 in Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI

Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 12,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,374,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $821,869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064,547 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 52.9% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 7,873,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,128,000 after purchasing an additional 2,724,576 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Albertsons Companies by 17.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,462,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,102,000 after buying an additional 825,983 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 1,601.1% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,729,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,807,000 after buying an additional 4,451,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 35.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,573,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,566,000 after buying an additional 1,189,103 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Albertsons Companies stock opened at $17.38 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The stock has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.49. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $23.20.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $24.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.68 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 37.92% and a net margin of 1.18%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.030-2.160 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 25th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 target price (up previously from $23.00) on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered Albertsons Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.81.

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.