M&T Bank Corp Buys Shares of 12,413 Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 12,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,196,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,138,000 after purchasing an additional 43,532 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,117,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,646,000 after purchasing an additional 94,300 shares in the last quarter. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $746,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 670,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,395,000 after purchasing an additional 36,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, K2 Principal Fund L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 68.4% in the 3rd quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 270,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,999,000 after purchasing an additional 109,901 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Stock Down 0.3 %

Albertsons Companies stock opened at $21.12 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $21.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $20.46 and its 200 day moving average is $19.49. The company has a market capitalization of $12.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.86, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The company had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. Albertsons Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

Albertsons Companies Company 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.