Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,963 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,902 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ACI. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.4% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.9% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 1.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 60,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares during the period. MRP Capital Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 2.7% in the second quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 45,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 1,197 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ACI shares. Melius Research raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.75.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of ACI opened at $19.80 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.51. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $23.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $19.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.25% and a return on equity of 49.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is currently 28.07%.

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.